Meet the team
Who are we?
We are Heather, Jenni and Shejmin. We bring different areas of experience to Asteria, but share a belief that good psychological care should be thoughtful, evidence-based and spacious enough to hold the complexity of real life without reducing people to a diagnosis or a single explanation.
Co-founder · Clinical Psychologist
Dr Heather Boland
Heather is a Clinical Psychologist with particular interests in trauma, Compassion-Focused Therapy and the relationship between physical and psychological health. Heather supports young people and adults with a variety of psychological, emotional and relational struggles, including trauma-related distress, anxiety, OCD, depression, dissociative experiences, and distress relating to physical health.
A central part of Heather’s work is helping people make sense of their experiences with greater understanding and compassion. She has a particular interest in trauma and in how shame, self-criticism and a sense of threat can shape our relationship with ourselves. Therapy can offer an opportunity to develop a kinder relationship with ourselves, work through the effects of past experiences and discover new ways of responding to life’s challenges.
Heather has experience supporting people experiencing psychological trauma and physical health difficulties. Living with a physical health condition, chronic pain, recovering from an injury or experiencing changes in our bodies can have a significant emotional impact. Her clinical work has included supporting burns and plastic surgery patients, people struggling with diabetes-related distress and chronic pain, as well as contributing to the development of a psychology service for people undergoing weight-loss surgery.
Heather has a keen interest in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). Heather also has an interest in providing Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), including how these approaches can support people to move towards lives that feel more meaningful and aligned with their values.
Heather considers neurodivergence understanding and neuroaffirming care essential as a therapist. She also has an interest in community psychology; how wider social systems, inequality, injustice and access to support can influence wellbeing. Her doctoral research explored climate anxiety, reflecting a broader interest in the psychological impact of the world around us.
Heather is based in St Helens. She is able to offer both in-person and online appointments.
Co-founder · Clinical Psychologist
Dr Jenni Grindon
Jen completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Coventry University and the University of Warwick in 2026. Before this, she worked in NHS Talking Therapies as a CBT therapist, and she currently works full time within the NHS. She is a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist and a BABCP accredited CBT Therapist.
Her doctoral research focused on farmers’ mental health. Coming from a rural background herself, Jen is passionate about improving access to psychological support for people who live and work in rural communities.
Jen has extensive experience working with neurodivergent people and supporting them with the challenges they may face. She also works with people experiencing shame, embarrassment, social anxiety and low self-esteem. These difficulties can show up as worrying about what others think, seeking reassurance, people pleasing, putting yourself last or relying on praise to feel good about yourself, and can affect relationships and everyday life. This also shows up in other ways; flitting from being anxious about getting things right and showing everyone you have things ‘together’, to then experiencing low moods when things seem to go wrong, become too much or you experience burn out.
A key part of Jen’s approach is helping people reconnect with their values and what matters most to them. This can be particularly helpful when depression leaves someone feeling disconnected or unsure of their direction.
Jen also has extensive experience supporting people who have experienced trauma, helping them make sense of their experiences and move towards a life that feels safer and more fulfilling, as well as working with those experiencing physical health difficulties such as cancer, chronic fatigue, unexplained symptoms and long term conditions; adapting to these changes in physical abilities can be rough and having support for this can compliment other treatments you may be having.
Jen is based in Newcastle-under-Lyme. She is able to offer both in-person and online appointments.
Co-founder · Clinical Psychologist
Dr Shejmin Akhtar
Shejmin completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool in 2026. Her doctoral research explored: 1) the experiences of South Asian autistic women and 2) autistic burnout in employment contexts.
She is particularly interested in the relationship between mind and body, and in understanding distress within the wider context of a person’s health, relationships, identity, culture and life experiences. Her neuropsychology work has strengthened her interest in how physical changes can affect mood, identity, relationships and a person’s sense of themselves.
Shejmin is also interested in how cultural differences can shape people’s experiences of health, distress and psychological care. This includes the influence of culture, faith, family and community, as well as experiences of racism, minority stress and feeling misunderstood within services. She is interested in how psychological care can be made more accessible and responsive without making assumptions about what culture or identity means for an individual.
Alongside Asteria, Shejmin works in an NHS neuropsychology service.
Shejmin is based in Cheshire. She is able to offer online appointments.
What unites us
Our shared approach
See the whole person
Physical health, emotional wellbeing, neurodivergence, identity, relationships, culture, history and context can all matter. We do not ask people to separate them in order to be understood, and we do not assume that one part of the story must explain all the others.
Make room for difference
We recognise neurodivergence and human difference without assuming there is one correct way to think, communicate, relate or cope.
Work with, not on
We aim to be collaborative and transparent. Psychological expertise matters, but so does your expertise in your own life. Our role is to bring knowledge and questions into the room, not to decide your meaning for you.
Finding the right fit
The relationship matters
You do not need to know which psychologist is the right fit before contacting us. Tell us a little about what you are looking for and we will consider your needs, preferences, the relationship you are hoping for and the most appropriate next step with you. Clinical fit matters, but so does whether the work feels possible between two people.