Internal Family Systems in Melbourne and online
Working with the parts of a person that pull in different directions
Internal Family Systems (IFS) treats the mind as naturally made of parts, each with its own role and its own way of trying to help. Therapy gets to know those parts, so a calmer centre can lead.
I'm Rudi Doku, an IFS Practitioner and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. I see people in person in Thornbury and Elsternwick, and online across Australia.
The first call is 45 minutes and free. We talk about what's bringing you in and whether this approach suits you.
Common reasons people book
Many people can see exactly what they're doing and why. Talking it through hasn't changed it, and the same thing keeps happening anyway.
Arguments repeat even after a promise to stop. A critical voice won't quieten, whatever has been achieved. IFS understands that kind of conflict as parts at work, and anyone unsure whether it applies is welcome to ask on the free call.
What Internal Family Systems is
Internal Family Systems is a therapeutic model developed by Richard Schwartz in the 1980s. At its core is the idea that the mind is naturally multiple, and that this is healthy. Some parts protect, often by working hard in ways that eventually cost a person. Others carry the weight of old wounds, and the beliefs formed in difficult moments about who someone is and what they deserve.
Underneath is the Self, a steady and compassionate centre that can lead once the parts trust it enough to step back. The work is helping a person get there. IFS holds that there are no bad parts, because even the extreme ones are trying to protect.
Protectors take two forms. Managers try to prevent pain in advance, through planning, perfectionism or control. Firefighters react once pain breaks through, often by numbing or impulsive behaviour. Both are keeping a more vulnerable part, called an exile, out of reach.
The centre
Self
The calm, grounded centre. In IFS the Self leads, and the work helps people recover access to it.
Outer layer
Protectors
Parts that manage daily life so painful material stays out of reach. They're often behind patterns that seem impossible to break.
Inner layer
Exiles
Parts carrying old hurt and shame, which protectors work hard to keep hidden. Helping them is often the heart of the work.
When one part wants change and another holds back
When two parts want opposite things, they can polarise. One pushes for change while another digs in, and each gets louder in response to the other.
Insight alone often leaves that tug-of-war running, because each part is doing its job. IFS works with each part directly. We get curious about what it's trying to do, and what it fears would happen if it stopped.
Talk therapy helps many people, and several of the best-researched trauma treatments involve talking. IFS adds a direct relationship with the parts that generate a pattern, which can help when the understanding is there and the pattern hasn't moved.
Plenty of people use IFS alongside Somatic Experiencing®, which brings in the body's response. Somatic Experiencing® in Melbourne explains that side of the work.
What it can help with
- A critical inner voice that won't quieten, whatever has been achieved
- Arguments that repeat, even after a promise to stop
- Knowing what they want and finding it out of reach to act on
- Anxiety and low mood that talking hasn't shifted
- The after-effects of trauma, including childhood experiences
- Grief, and the parts that carry it
- Burnout after years of holding everything together
- Imposter syndrome in people who have done well
- Relationship strain, including between couples
- Shame and a sense of not being enough
- Connection that feels thin, with themselves and with others
- Feeling pulled in two directions over a big decision
IFS can sit alongside medical care and psychiatric treatment, and I'll say so if I think you need either.
What can change over time
- Less internal conflict, as parts that have been fighting find a different way to coexist
- A softer inner critic
- More self-compassion, which is where change tends to start
- Patterns that felt fixed beginning to shift once the part driving them feels understood
- More energy for relationships, with less going into managing parts
- Staying with the work, as people did in the 2026 PTSD trial, where attendance and satisfaction were higher
- A sense of coming home to oneself
Nobody can promise any of these, and they tend to arrive unevenly. Some show up early and some take longer.
Where the research stands
The research on Internal Family Systems is early. Most studies are small, and several of the main trials involved the model's developers or organisations connected to it.
The most recent is a randomised trial of 60 adults with PTSD, published online in January 2026 in Psychological Trauma. Half were assigned to a 16-week online IFS group program with eight individual sessions, and half to a well-matched nature-based stress reduction program with the same number of sessions. PTSD symptoms fell significantly in both groups, with no significant difference between them. People in the IFS group attended more sessions and reported higher satisfaction.
An earlier proof-of-concept trial, published in 2013 in the Journal of Rheumatology, randomised 79 people with rheumatoid arthritis to a nine-month IFS group or to an education group that received mailed materials. After treatment the IFS group had less overall pain and better physical function. A year later, self-assessed joint pain, depressive symptoms and self-compassion were still better in that group, while anxiety, self-efficacy and disease activity showed no sustained improvement.
A small 2024 feasibility study of the online PTSD program, with 15 participants, found a clinically meaningful response in 8 of them, and its authors called for well-controlled research.
In the one trial with an active comparison, IFS did about as well as the comparison on symptoms. Larger trials with longer follow-up are still needed. I'm happy to talk through what's known on the free call.
Sources: Joss et al. (2026), Psychological Trauma; Shadick et al. (2013), Journal of Rheumatology; Feasibility study (2024), Psychological Trauma.
What happens in a session
Sessions create conditions for something gradual. The parts that have been managing or shutting things down slowly get a different experience.
Getting to know a part
We get curious about a difficult part and ask what it's trying to do for the person, and what it's afraid would happen if it stopped.
Building trust
Parts tend to shift when they feel met from a calm, steady place by the person's own Self, and that takes time. People often find it the part of the work they didn't expect to matter most.
Unburdening
When a part feels safe enough, it can release what it's been carrying, the old beliefs and strategies it developed long ago and never updated. That's where change tends to settle.
Who IFS suits, and when care is needed
IFS tends to suit people who are curious about their inner world and willing to go slowly. It's often a good fit for people who understand their patterns well and still can't shift them.
Some situations call for extra care. Working with parts can be disorienting during active psychosis or mania, so I'd want clinical support in place first. People with severe dissociation, or who aren't yet stable, usually need more preparation before this kind of work.
Pacing matters for everyone. Moving too quickly toward painful material can stir up strong reactions, so we start with the parts that protect and go at the speed they allow.
This work sits alongside medical and psychological care. If any of this applies, I'll say so on the free call and we can work out what support to put in place first.
Getting started
The first step is a free 45-minute call. I'll ask what's bringing you in and explain how I work, and we both decide whether IFS suits you. Booking afterwards is optional.
If we both want to go ahead, you'll receive a client services agreement to sign online. Once it's signed, you'll complete a short intake form, and then we meet for your first session, which is 80 minutes.
Sessions are in person in Thornbury or Elsternwick, or online from wherever you are.
Sessions after the first are 60 or 80 minutes. Payment is due when you book a session through my booking system.
I ask for notice to cancel or reschedule, and the client services agreement covers the rest.
For session fees, email rudi@rudidoku.com.au and I'll send them to you. Sessions aren't Medicare rebatable.
Working with me
“IFS helped me understand the parts of myself that were running the show without my permission.”
I came to IFS through my own experience of high-conflict transition. One part of me was bracing for the next blow while another just wanted it all to stop. Each of them was trying to protect me. Learning to work alongside them changed how I functioned under pressure.
I use IFS directly in sessions. I completed IFS Level 1 through the IFS Institute in June 2021, and I trained personally with Einat Bronstein. I'm also a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), certified through Somatic Experiencing International.
Listed in the IFSANZ practitioner directory
I'm not a registered psychologist or psychiatrist, and I'm not yet registered as a psychotherapist. I don't diagnose psychiatric conditions. Sessions aren't Medicare rebatable. I'm also completing postgraduate study in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Ikon Institute.
Where I see people
Thornbury
Melbourne Integrated Therapies
8-10 Mansfield Street
Elsternwick
Glo Health
358-360 Glen Huntly Road
Online
In every state and territory of Australia, and internationally.
Online somatic therapy in AustraliaAlongside the rest of my work
I often combine IFS with Somatic Experiencing®, which works with the body's response. Somatic Experiencing® in Melbourne covers that side of the work, and somatic therapy in Melbourne gives the wider picture.
Some articles go further on these ideas.
What clients say
“great to talk to, highly knowledgeable, skilful and empathic”Claire, client
“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.”
“real presence and gravitas”Min L, 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.”
“so much wisdom available through a somatic approach”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.”
Questions people ask
You can bring any of these to the call, or ask them here first.
What is IFS therapy and how does it work?
Internal Family Systems is a therapeutic model that treats the mind as naturally made of parts, each with its own role and its own way of trying to help. The work involves getting to know these parts, understanding what they carry, and helping them trust that a calmer, steadier place, which IFS calls the Self, can lead.
Sessions are conversational, and you won't be asked to relive difficult experiences before you're ready. The pace is slow by design, because the nervous system settles through relationship and safety.
What are parts in IFS?
Parts are the different inner perspectives we all carry. One might drive you hard at work while another criticises from the sidelines. IFS sees every part as having a positive intention, even when its strategy ends up causing difficulty.
Some parts are protectors that manage daily life so painful material stays out of reach. Others are more vulnerable and carry old hurt. The work is to understand what a part is doing for you and help it relax. For a fuller picture, here is how parts work.
What is the Self in IFS?
The Self is the calm, compassionate core that IFS holds exists in everyone, beneath the parts. It's who you are when the parts relax and step back.
The aim of the work is to help the Self lead, so the inner system feels safe enough to settle and parts no longer have to carry their burdens alone.
How is IFS different from regular talk therapy?
Talk therapy helps many people, and several of the best-researched trauma treatments involve talking. Many talk therapies work mainly through insight, understanding why you do what you do. IFS adds a direct relationship with the parts that generate a pattern, which can help when the understanding is there and the pattern hasn't moved.
It also relies less on the therapist interpreting your experience, because you build the relationship with your own parts. Plenty of people use IFS alongside other therapy.
Is IFS evidence-based?
The research is early. A 2026 randomised trial of an online IFS group for PTSD found significant symptom reductions, though no more than in an active comparison group, and a 2013 trial in rheumatoid arthritis found benefits for pain, physical function and depressive symptoms. Larger trials are still needed.
The research section above sets out the studies and their limits.
What can IFS help with?
People bring a wide range of things to IFS work, including anxiety, low mood, grief, the after-effects of trauma, harsh self-criticism, relationship strain, and patterns that stay stuck despite real self-awareness. It's also used in coaching to understand the parts that drive behaviour under pressure.
Many people come when they understand their patterns intellectually but haven't yet been able to shift them.
Do I need to have experienced trauma to benefit from IFS?
No. IFS is often used for trauma, and you don't need a trauma history to benefit. Many people come because of persistent self-criticism, emotional reactivity, or relationship patterns that have no obvious traumatic origin.
It's also relevant for high-functioning people who feel internally divided, with parts that push hard at work while other parts feel depleted.
How long does IFS therapy take?
There's no fixed timeline. Some people notice significant shifts within a few months. Others work over a longer period, particularly with deeper or more complex patterns.
I usually work with people for a minimum of six months. Change can come quickly, and a lasting version of it still needs enough repetition for new patterns to settle.
Can IFS be combined with other approaches?
Yes. My practice integrates IFS with Somatic Experiencing®, so we can work with the parts and with the body's responses that come with them. Many people find the combination useful. The Somatic Experiencing® in Melbourne page explains that side of the work.
If you're also seeing another therapist or working with a coach, IFS can run alongside that.
Is this therapy or coaching, and is it a substitute for medical care?
IFS is a therapy model. I practise it as an IFS Practitioner, a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and a coach. I'm not a registered psychologist or psychiatrist, and I'm not yet registered as a psychotherapist while I complete postgraduate study in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Ikon Institute.
This work sits alongside medical or psychological care. If you're dealing with a mental health condition or significant distress, working with a registered health professional is wise, and IFS can complement that care.
Do you offer in-person IFS sessions in Melbourne?
Yes. I offer in-person IFS sessions in Thornbury in the inner north and Elsternwick in the inner south, both accessible from across the metropolitan area.
Online sessions are available for clients across Australia and internationally. Some people begin online and move to in-person over time, and both formats work for IFS.
How do I know if IFS is right for me?
The best way to find out is a free 45-minute call. We'll talk about what you're working with and I'll explain how I work, and we'll both get a sense of whether it fits. There's no commitment.
IFS tends to suit people who are curious about their inner world and willing to slow down. If that resonates, it's worth a conversation.
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Start with a free call
The call runs for 45 minutes. We talk about what's bringing you in and whether Internal Family Systems feels like the right approach, and either of us can say it isn't.