Graduate Intern

Austin Gates

Austin Gates is a graduate intern at Venya Therapeutics, completing his Master's in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling at Naropa University. He works with adults and couples via telehealth, under the supervision of Alexandria Mezyad, MA, LPC-S.

Austin's approach is contemplative and embodied. He draws on mindfulness, Gestalt, transpersonal, existential, and humanistic traditions, meeting clients in the present moment, with attention to the whole person and the questions of meaning, freedom, and identity that come simply with being human. His work is grounded in years of personal meditation and spiritual practice, including his practice within the Inayati-Maimuni Sufi Order.

Much of what draws him to this work is the tension between the performed self and the lived one: how the pace and noise of modern life pull us away from present experience, and what it takes to return. He brings patience, steadiness, and genuine regard to each conversation, trusting every person's own capacity to grow.

Approaches & Focus