Receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult is often a profound turning point. For many, it brings a sense of relief and answers long-standing questions about how they experience the world. For others, it can initiate a period of processing, as they re-evaluate past experiences through a new lens.
While a formal diagnosis is an essential first step, knowing how to navigate the practicalities of day-to-day life with this new understanding can be challenging. It is common to feel unsure about what comes next, or how to manage any co-occurring difficulties like anxiety, depression, or burnout.
At Priory Woodbourne, our adult autism psychological support pathway is a structured, 12-week programme designed to bridge this gap. Informed and underpinned by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, this pathway offers comprehensive post-diagnostic information, practical guidance, and ongoing peer support to help you live a fulfilling life.
What to expect from post-diagnostic support
Our programme focuses on helping you understand your unique profile of strengths while identifying practical tools to navigate the challenges of a world not always designed for neurodiversity.
This pathway is designed to help you:
- Develop a deeper self-understanding: Explore what your diagnosis means for you individually, including identifying your core strengths
- Connect with a peer community: Meet other autistic adults in a safe, low-pressure environment to share experiences and build mutual understanding
- Manage co-occurring challenges: Access targeted psychological support for overlapping difficulties, such as sensory overwhelm, anxiety, low mood, or trauma
- Build tailored strategies: Receive personalised recommendations that can also benefit your family, partner, or carers.
If you have not yet received a formal diagnosis, Priory Clinic at Woodbourne also offers comprehensive private adult autism assessments.
How the 12-week pathway is structured
The programme spans 12 weeks and combines focused peer group sessions with private, one-to-one appointments. To foster a stable environment built on mutual trust, the group sessions are closed. This ensures that everyone starts and finishes together, and no new members join mid-way through.
While all group sessions take place face-to-face at our dedicated Birmingham facility, we offer flexible online appointments for the individual one-to-one sessions if required.
The timetable breakdown
The programme has been designed to provide a pathway that:
- Is responsive to the needs of autistic adults, which could benefit their families, partners and carers
- Enables autistic people to develop an enhanced understanding of their strengths
- Provides personalised support and recommendations
- Provides individual and group psychoeducational interventions, focused on autism
- Provides opportunities for autistic people to meet other people on the autism spectrum, to develop mutual support and understanding
Criteria for the programme
This pathway is open to adults over the age of 18 who have a formal autism diagnosis.
Participants must be able to comfortably tolerate being in a room with up to eight people and safely manage distress when overwhelmed. If this environment does not feel appropriate for your needs, our team can discuss alternative pathways with you.
Because the course involves structured group work and self-reflective exercises, it is not suitable for individuals currently experiencing an acute mental health crisis. This includes a severe psychiatric disorder, acute risk of suicide, significant substance misuse, or significant learning or attentional deficits.
Fees
The pathway is available on a self-pay basis, and the cost depends on whether you received your original diagnosis with us:
- Diagnosed by Priory: £1,150
- Diagnosed by an external provider/NHS: £1,250 (This inclusive cost covers the initial individual suitability assessment in Week 1).
If you would like to find out when our next adult autism support group begins, or if you wish to book your initial assessment, please contact the Birmingham team directly here.
