Training
Neuroaffirming Training
Hello! I’m Caitlin Hughes (she/they) — a proud Neurodivergent Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW), therapist, supervisor and PhD researcher based in Brisbane.
I am the founder of Cathartic Collaborations, a practice dedicated to relational, neurodivergent-led support, learning, and systems change.
I support workplaces, universities, schools, mental health services, and community organisations to move beyond neurodiversity awareness into practical, relational, and systemic change.
My work sits at the intersection of lived experience, clinical practice, and research, bringing together story, ethics, and practical insight to support more inclusive and neuroaffirming spaces.
I live and work within the intersections of Autism, ADHD, giftedness, and queerness — identities that deeply shape how I understand wellbeing, systems, and the process of becoming more fully ourselves.
My work is deeply informed by my own lived experience of late diagnosis, burnout, unmasking, and rebuilding, alongside my clinical practice and doctoral research exploring neurodivergent affirming approaches to autistic mental health care.
Whether I am presenting at a conference, facilitating a team training or sharing my story publicly, my goal is to create spaces that are reflective, inclusive, and regenerative — where people can explore complexity, challenge assumptions, and reconnect with what matters most.
For more information about my qualifications, training, and experience, check out this page or my LinkedIn.
Currently available for:
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Presentations for organisations or events
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Professional development and workplace training
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Keynotes, workshops and panels at conferences
I may be a good fit if you are looking for:
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A neurodivergent speaker with lived, clinical, research, and systems insight
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Professional development that moves beyond basic awareness
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Workplace training that is reflective and practical
Workshops & Professional Development
Facilitating Change through Inclusive, Participatory Learning
Alongside speaking engagements, I deliver training and professional development workshops designed to translate neuroaffirming theory and research into practical, actionable strategies. As both a practitioner and researcher, I am committed to challenging deficit-based narratives and supporting more ethical, relational, and neurodivergent-affirming approaches within mental health and professional spaces.
My workshops are reflective, relational, and participatory, centring neurodivergent voices while supporting organisations and practitioners to move beyond awareness toward meaningful change. Sessions are designed to create insight while equipping participants with tools they can apply within their workplaces and professional practice.
Rather than offering one-size-fits-all strategies, my facilitation supports participants to understand patterns, context, nervous system needs, communication differences, power, access, and the systems that shape whether neurodivergent people can participate safely and sustainably.
For Workplaces & Organisations
I offer workplace and organisational training for teams wanting to build more neuroaffirming, accessible, and psychologically safer work environments.
These sessions can support staff, leaders, and teams to better understand Autistic and ADHD experiences, communication differences, sensory and cognitive accessibility, burnout risk, feedback practices, and the everyday systems that shape inclusion.
Example Workshops:
Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Practical Strategies for Burnout Prevention, Communication & Belonging
A practical workshop for teams and leaders wanting to build more neuroinclusive workplaces. This session explores how everyday workplace systems, including communication, feedback, workload and sensory environments, can affect neurodivergent staff wellbeing and participation. Participants leave with practical strategies to reduce burnout risk, improve communication across neurotypes, and create more accessible, psychologically safer workplace cultures.
Neuroaffirming Supervision: Tools and strategies for supervising Autistic and ADHD professionals
A professional development workshop offering practical tools and reflective strategies for supervising autistic and ADHD professionals. This session explores identity, burnout, masking, communication differences, capacity, boundaries, workplace systems, and sustainable neuroaffirming practice.
When Lived Experience Speaks: Ethical and Embodied Self-Disclosure of Neurodivergence in Therapy
A professional development workshop exploring how neurodivergent therapists can approach lived experience disclosure with clarity, consent, embodiment, and ethical care. This session supports clinicians to reflect on timing, purpose, boundaries, power, relational safety, and the difference between connection and over-disclosure.
Past Training Highlights
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Professional development training for the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
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Learn more about past presentations and training here
Lauren - Clinic Director
"Caitlin presented a workshop for our team of mental health clinicians on neurodivergent affirming supervision and it was fantastic! The team found Caitlin really engaging and very well researched in the area. Caitlin is an expert in neurodivergent affirming practice and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her."
Participant - AASW Webinar
Caitlin's presentation drew on lived experience community wisdom, peer-reviewed evidence from neurodivergent-led research teams, and a trans-inclusive example. This was a detailed, nuanced, and practically useful session that validated the anti-oppressive, neurodivergent-affirming work I was doing and articulated clear language for communicating neurodivergent-affirming concepts in supervision, including when advocating with employers.