Picture of Catherine Asta

Catherine Asta

Creating spaces where stories are heard, belonging is felt, and transformation becomes possible.

Scroll to discover

About Me

I’m an ex-NHS strategist turned psychotherapist, author, consultant, facilitator and artist. My work brings together storytelling, strategic leadership, systems thinking and trauma-informed practice to help create more compassionate, neuro-inclusive and deeply human spaces for healing, connection, transformation and belonging.

Professionally, across the last two decades, I’ve led multi-million pound community programmes, co-designed NHS strategic advisory and patient forums to support £5bn strategy development, headed up transformation for a large NHS acute trust and created pioneering peer led support spaces.

More recently, I am the host of the globally recognised podcast and community 'The Late Discovered Club' - the number one ranked podcast for late-identified autistic women, as well as producer and host of the NHS funded ‘Autism Central’ podcast.

And over the last decade I have supported hundreds of women through peer support circles, 1:1 therapy and community support.

My bestselling book ‘Rediscovered’ is currently being translated internationally, with my memoir ‘Still Living’ published in April 2026.

Through my 'Gather + Belong' Circle Design Programme, I empower individuals and organisations to create trauma-informed, neuro-inclusive peer spaces that are deeply human. Alongside this, I offer supervision, reflective practice and psychological support for practitioners, facilitators, programmes and teams whose work involves holding space for others.

At the end of 2025 I was appointed as an Associate to co-author and deliver a PEERS framework for the £6 million NHS funded National Autism Peer Education Programme - as well as producing and hosting the podcast for the programme.

In parallel to my creative work, I collaborate with organisations across healthcare, wellness, education, charity and community sectors through my consultancy - including working as an Associate for the Anna Freud Centre in London.

Whether I’m developing national NHS training content, advising and shaping programmes (from design through to delivery), transforming services and workforces or guest lecturing the next generation of neuro affirming therapists - my work is rooted in compassion and a deep commitment to inclusion. 

Underlying all of it is a curiosity about the stories we carry, the spaces we create together, and how both can influence and transform the systems we live and work within.

A two-time breast cancer survivor, I live on the edge of the moors in Ilkley, Yorkshire in the UK where the landscape inspires and informs much of my writing and creative work.

Learn More

Seen and heard on

Why work with me?

My work moves between stories, strategy, spaces and systems - four interconnected strands that bring together the breadth and depth of my experience.

Stories

Writing, art, podcasts, conversations and creative work that explores themes around identity, loss, wellbeing, healing, nature, embodiment, belonging, relationships and neurodivergence.

Strategy

Bringing psychological insight, strategic leadership and big picture thinking to programmes, projects, teams and organisations.

Spaces

Creating the conditions and designing spaces for people to feel heard, held and able to belong.

Systems

Connecting people, ideas and lived experience to influence transformational change and help make systems more human.

My Approach

Across all of my work I take an integrative and grounded approach that is trauma-informed, experience-sensitive, strengths and compassion-focused, person-centred and neuroinclusive.

I value difference, curiosity and the knowledge and wisdom we carry through lived experience.

I'm also a visual, strategic thinker with a deeply creative mind - able to see connections, patterns and possibilities, and bring together ideas that might otherwise sit apart.

My Qualifications

I have a degree and MSc in Psychology, a Diploma in Effective Psychotherapy, along with a PGCert in Leadership.

And I'm a graduate member of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

I have been licensed to practise with the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists (NCIP) since 2015 and was awarded a Fellow in 2019 for outstanding commitment to my profession.

My Work

Through stories, strategy, spaces and systems - explore the ways you can work with me.

Learn More

My Evidence Bank

I took a brave step in arranging 3 of our team clinicians to attend Catherine’s Circles training. Not only was I 100% confident in my clinicians, but I was also 100% confident in the quality of training and support that Catherine would give my team. The training has now finished and I am blown away by what has emerged from the training.  Woven through is Catherine’s approach to holding Circles – compassionate, neuroinclusive, trauma informed.  I HIGHLY recommend Catherine’s Programme. I can see how helpful this would be in facilitating any circles, in any context.

~Dr Becky Quicke, Clinical Psychologist, Founder Autistic Girls and Women

Thanks so much for the thoughtful design and delivery of the Gather + Belong programme Catherine! I feel really resourced and energised about using what I’ve learned in my own facilitation work. The contents were considered and accessible and reminded me that care for ones personal capacity is central to holding space for others.
Gather + Belong participant 

Catherine is a humanistic and kind person who has a wealth of knowledge and patience. She is dedicated to improving outcomes for autistic people and making a real difference and impact in training professionals.

Tristan Kluibenschadl – Director STAK.Life

Catherine is a fantastic interviewer, and wonderful facilitator, who is able to hold space, use her platform and shine a light on important topics. I was a guest on Season 2 of her innovative and inclusive podcast The Late Discovered Club.  Catherine has such an inviting and calming manner and really allows people to open up and be their authentic selves. The work Catherine is doing is brave, raw, genuine, impactful, crucial, creative and beautiful. And I thank her and Caty for welcoming me to be a part of it.

Kirsty Cullen-Campanelli 

A masterclass in vulnerability

If the first two episodes of The Late Discovered Club are anything to go by the rest of this podcast series is going to be incredible listening. I related to so much of what was shared in the first episode, way more than anticipated actually and whilst it seems too easy and trite to say I felt seen it’s the only suitable response. Bravo Catherine for your bravery and desire to help make life better for so many of us who are misunderstood.

I have known Catherine for several years.  Even from the very start of her training she has inspired me with her style, sense of purpose and humility.  I have watched almost mesmerised, but not surprised by her rise to the very top of the Psychotherapy profession. Almost unheard of was her award of a Fellowship of the National Council of Integrative Psychotherapists in no more than four years of private practice.

Director of NCIP

We invited Catherine to join our workshop as an expert speaker and she spoke from her personal and professional experience with great authority, compassion and clarity. She understood immediately what we wanted to get out of the session and worked closely with us to deliver an inspiring and enlightening interview. The client team thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her experiences, and many new understandings and ideas arose from this piece of work.
Consultancy with a Financial Services Client 

Blog

The Latest

Insights and Thoughts

Learn more