Catherine Asta

About Me

At the heart of everything I do is the belief that healing and belonging begin with being seen, heard and understood.

Sometimes that happens in the therapy room, or through a microphone in a virtual podcast studio.

Sometimes in a circle or community of peers who realise they are not alone, or equipping professionals to design and deliver trauma aware, deeply human peer support.

And sometimes it’s narrative on a page, or designing frameworks and spaces that can hold people.

My work is about creating spaces where people can gather, belong, and begin again, and it lives across five interconnected strands:

Publishing

I write memoir and narrative non-fiction exploring trauma, late discovery, chronic ill health, and what it means to find your way home in the aftermath of the mountains we never choose to climb, when life has been irrevocably changed and rearranged, with no return to who we once were.

I bring a neurodivergent, compassionate, and embodied lens to questions of healing, loss and identity, weaving psychological insight and nature rooted wisdom.

My first book, 'Rediscovered' (JKP, 2025), is a bestselling part memoir, part guide for late-discovered autistic women and those who support them. It is currently being translated internationally.

My second book, 'Still Living: Rewilding the Self After the Climb', is a memoir exploring illness, identity and life beyond survival, and will be published in May 2026 through my own imprint, CA Publishing.

Podcasting

I am the founder and host of 'The Late Discovered Club', the #1 ranked podcast and community for female autism, amplifying the voices and stories of late-discovered autistic women around the world.

Since it began in 2022, the podcast has reached almost a quarter of a million listeners, in over 130 countries worldwide.

I also host and produce the NHS-funded 'Autism Central' Podcast for the 'National Autism Peer Education Programme' led by the Anna Freud Centre.

Therapy

I have been practicing as an integrative psychotherapist for over a decade. My approach is humanistic, trauma-informed, embodied and neuro-inclusive, grounded in compassion and curiosity.

I work with people navigating illness, trauma, neurodivergence, identity shifts, grief, and the many unexpected turns life can take - a space to reclaim your story, and find your way home to yourself.

Circles

Through my 'Gather + Belong' Circle Design Programme, I support individuals and organisations to create trauma-informed, neuro-inclusive peer spaces that are deeply human.

I also deliver post discovery peer support circles for late discovered autistic women from across the world to explore their journey together.

These spaces recognise the healing power of shared experience and community.

Consultancy

Alongside my creative work, I collaborate with organisations across healthcare, education and community sectors through consultancy, training and programme design.

I live on the edge of the moors in Ilkley, Yorkshire, in the UK, where the landscape inspires much of my writing and creativity.