Somatic therapy in Melbourne and online across Australia
I'm Rudi Doku, a certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. I work with people experiencing anxiety, chronic stress, burnout, trauma, grief and difficult life transitions.
My approach draws on Somatic Experiencing® and Internal Family Systems (IFS), paying attention to what's happening in the body alongside thoughts and emotions.
I see clients in Thornbury and Elsternwick, and online across Australia.
Book a free 45-minute consultation
About the work
What people bring to sessions
A lot of what keeps people stuck is held in the nervous system, which is why we spend much of each session with sensation and breath as you talk.
Most people arrive after a loss or a long stretch of pressure, and plenty have already done years of talk therapy.
- Grief after a death, a separation or a move that cost more than anyone expected
- Burnout after years of pushing through
- Anxiety and stress that won't settle
- Trauma from childhood or from past relationships, including what's sometimes called complex PTSD
- A career change or relocation that leaves a person unsure who they are now
- Self-doubt, and trouble trusting others
- A sense of going through the motions of a life that should feel good
I'm not a registered psychologist or psychiatrist, and this work sits alongside medical or psychological care without replacing it.
About Rudi
Most of what I bring to sessions, I learnt the hard way first.
I lived in three countries under three different cultures for over five years, and it taught me to adapt fast. I didn't notice what it was costing my nervous system. Therapy that worked with my body, and later Internal Family Systems, led me to train in this work myself.
I'm a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and an IFS Practitioner, and I'm completing a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy at Ikon Institute.
I've trained personally with Einat Bronstein in IFS, and with Maggie Kline and Kathy Kain in somatic work. Deb Dana taught me polyvagal-informed practice, and I'm now a Teaching Assistant with Somatic Experiencing International on the Melbourne training, where Maggie teaches.
Ways of working
What we might use in sessions
Body-based
Somatic Experiencing®
Somatic Experiencing® works with your body's responses to stress and trauma. It starts with what your body already knows how to do, and uses it to help old stress settle.
Somatic Experiencing® in Melbourne →Parts work
Internal Family Systems
IFS works with your protective parts and the conflicts between them. It helps when part of you wants one thing and another part wants the opposite, and we get curious about each of them, including the ones you'd rather not have.
About IFS →A practice to take home
Tension, Stress and Trauma Release Exercises (TRE®)
TRE® is a body-based exercise practice. A short series of simple exercises invites the body's natural tremor, which many people find lets long-held tension settle. Once you've learned it, you can use it at home between sessions.
About TRE® →How I work
What sessions involve
My work is with people who've spent years adapting to what everyone else needed, often at a cost their nervous system has been quietly paying. Most arrive burnt out or grieving, sometimes both. Sessions help your body find its way back to feeling steady, so you can tell what you want again and trust it. People often notice it at work first, in how they handle a hard conversation. Later it shows up in how close they let others get.
"Your nervous system learned to protect you, and every part of you has a good reason for what it does. In our work you are always in charge of your body. We go at a pace that stretches you without overwhelming you, and we practise until the body catches up with what the mind already knows."
From a client
"From our first session, I felt truly heard. What surprised me most was the body work: simple exercises that helped me short-circuit stress in a way that thinking alone never had."
Servane · Client
Client experiences
"I came to Rudi at a time of need and found the sessions to be really helpful. He is great to talk to, highly knowledgeable, skilful and empathic. His sense of humour is pretty unique and that helped too. Rudi is very passionate about his work and generous with his follow-up and suggesting practices for in between sessions."
Claire · Client
"What's rare is finding someone who can be sophisticated, tender and delicate, but at the same time bring real presence and gravitas. The way Rudi creates a space where you feel genuinely heard is remarkable, and it's the first step where you can start getting curious about yourself."
Min L · Client
"I'd recommend this especially to people who think they know themselves, but for some reason keep hitting the same wall. There's a chance you've been intellectualising your journey. There's so much wisdom available through a somatic approach, and so many options you haven't seen yet. It's one of the most beautiful gifts you can give yourself."
Min L · Client
Locations
Where sessions happen
I see clients in person at two Melbourne clinics, and online in every state and territory for anyone who'd rather stay home. There's more on somatic therapy in Melbourne if you'd like the wider picture.
Thornbury
Melbourne Integrated Therapies8-10 Mansfield St, Thornbury VIC 3071
Elsternwick
Glo Health358-360 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick VIC 3185
Working together
I offer in-person sessions in Thornbury and Elsternwick, and online sessions across Australia.
The first session is 90 minutes. Subsequent sessions are available for 60 or 90 minutes.
Fees are offered on a sliding scale, with current rates from $140 to $220. Sessions aren't eligible for Medicare rebates, and you don't need a referral.
If you're considering working together, we can begin with a free 45-minute consultation to talk about what brings you here and whether my approach is suitable.
Get started
Start with a free 45-minute call
Pick a time and answer three short questions. We'll then spend 45 minutes talking about where you are and whether this work suits you. If it does, you'll sign a short client services agreement and complete an intake form before your first session.
Book a free call