WildCATs was co-founded by three Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) practitioners: Nick Barnes, Amanda Copeland and Abi Tarran-Jones. Together, we facilitate immersive residential experiences for therapeutic practitioners interested in exploring nature connection as a resource for personal wellbeing, professional development and therapeutic practice. Our multidisciplinary backgrounds inform the development of WildCATs.
Nick Barnes is a psychiatrist based within NHS Highland. Amanda Copeland is a mental health nurse by background and works as a CAT psychotherapist within Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Abi Tarran-Jones is a clinical psychologist, working part-time within University Hospitals Tees NHS Foundation Trust and in independent practice as The Outdoor Psychologist Ltd. Our work is grounded in the relational, contextual and experiential principles of Cognitive Analytic Therapy, exploring how these can be extended into relationship with the natural world. WildCATs residentials invite practitioners to slow down, reflect and develop their awareness of themselves, others and place.
To date, we have facilitated residential programmes at Shining Cliff Woods in Derbyshire and the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre in the Scottish Highlands. Alongside the residentials, we facilitate the WildCATs Nature-Based Practice Special Interest Group (SIG), bringing together a community of practitioners interested in nature connection, planetary health and the development of nature-informed approaches within therapeutic practice.Through our contributions to the ICATA Conference in Athens, we hope to invite curiosity, dialogue and reflection about the possibilities of expanding CAT practice beyond traditional therapeutic settings. We hope to contribute to an emerging conversation about how nature-based approaches may enrich therapeutic practice, support practitioner wellbeing, foster community and respond to wider challenges around planetary health and social inequalities. We consent to our bios and photo to be published on the official conference website as do our co-presenters whose bios and photos are below.
