Dr Anne Augustine

It can be exhausting to hold onto a heavy burden when it feels like there is no one to share the load. Perhaps you feel like an observer of your own life — questioning your identity or belonging during a time of transition. You might feel ‘stuck’ in patterns that once protected you, but now leave you feeling lonely or unseen. Maybe there’s a rupture in a significant relationship that feels hard to repair. Or possibly there's a lingering feeling of something you can't quite name.

You don’t have to carry all this alone. Let’s look at what’s happening, together. My name is Anne, and I am a Gestalt psychotherapist based in York. I work in person from Clements Hall in Clementhorpe, just outside the city walls, as well as online. 

From a Gestalt perspective, I am interested in what is happening in a therapy session: what you say, how you say it, your sense of connection to yourself and others. Attention is given to thoughts, feelings, and other sensations as they arise, as well as their absences. We might also use creative and/or grounding practices to calm your nervous system when there are no words for what your mind-heart-body-soul knows. I offer a caring space where you are supported and affirmed exactly as you are.

If you have a feeling we might be a good fit, I invite you to contact me for a free, no obligation, 20-minute online chat — 30-minutes for couples/relationships — to explore how we might begin our work together. Send me an email, and I'll respond to arrange a time to meet, or answer any questions you might have.

The next step would then be to schedule a full, paid, therapy session. This is a no-pressure space for us to see if our way of being together meets what you are needing right now. We would then decide whether to continue, and for how many sessions.

Areas I can support you with include stress and burnout, overwhelm, anxiety, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, shame, low self esteem, loneliness, reconnecting with yourself and others, and enhancing self acceptance.

I also have areas of special interest, including:

• Ageing and Menopause: navigating spiritual, emotional, relational, physical, and identity shifts during (peri and post) menopause, midlife, and ageing —  for all menopausal people.
• Healing from our Past: working with echoes of early life trauma and the ways our histories continue to shape our present relationships and sense of self.
• Identity and Belonging: exploring LGBTQIA+ and QTIPOC identities/expressions, career change, life transitions, mixed and multi heritage, living with dis-ability or chronic ill health; and how these intersect.
• Relationships: for diverse configurations (including couples, co-parents, and adult siblings) — ruptures, enhancing communication, clarifying needs, beginnings, transitions, or endings.
• Spiritual Conversations: exploring life’s meaning and purpose, finding inner peace, death and dying, and our place in the world — for all beliefs and none.

My approach to therapy is relational, inclusive, and informed by social justice values. I strive to be:

• Affirming: I am committed to trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, multi-cultural, sex-positive, trans and queer-affirmative practices. I do not use labels or diagnoses unless you use them for yourself.
• Attuned: working collaboratively, without diagnosis or interpretation, and at a depth and pace that respects your unique need for connection, regulation, and safety.
• Flexible: available for short-term work (8-12 weekly sessions) for a specific theme or concern, or open-ended and deeper exploration. This can be involve meeting online, in person, or a hybrid approach.

Reaching out takes immense courage — and I am here to meet you with warmth, curiosity, and care. I know for myself how life-changing good therapy can be. I transitioned into this field to offer healing support to others; and I offer my whole, authentic self in our work so that you might feel safer to do the same. 

I operate a sliding scale fee structure, where you pay what is affordable for you.

• Individual therapy: £55-£70 per 50-minute weekly session.
• Couples & relationships: £80-£95 (for two people) per 60-minute session.