Brief, intensive assessment and integrated formulation (BRIDGE) is delivered over 3-6 months by a therapist and focuses on three things:
1) An intensive (post-randomisation) assessment, taking up to two sessions, for understanding the young person’s presenting difficulties, background history, neurodevelopmental profile, life events history and functioning (for example, how you are doing in school, work, wellbeing and relations).
2) Up to 16 sessions of Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT).
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is a collaborative psychotherapeutic model that helps understand what a person brings to the therapy (‘target problems’) and the deeper patterns of relating that underlie them. CAT is an integrative model of human development and of psychotherapy drawing on ideas as mentioned below. It is a fundamentally relational model, both in its view of human development and in its practice of psychotherapy. At its heart is an empathic, respectful and collaborative, meaning-making relationship between the client and therapist within the therapeutic boundaries.
3) A shared understanding of the young person’s presenting difficulties with a multi-agency group unique to them (for example, school counsellor, youth support worker, family member). This will be done with the young person’s consent.