Somatic Therapy for Trauma, Anxiety, and C-PTSD in Melbourne
Work with your nervous system to regulate, recover and reconnect
Using Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Your body has been keeping score. It's time to listen.
Something in you knows that understanding the problem isn't the same as being free of it. This work goes where insight alone can't reach.
Somatic Experiencing Therapy in Melbourne
Resolve trauma through the nervous system, not just the mind
Somatic Experiencing is a body-based approach to trauma therapy that works directly with the nervous system. Rather than focusing only on thoughts or insight, it helps you safely process stored stress, regulate overwhelm, and restore a sense of safety in your body.
This approach is especially effective for trauma, anxiety and C-PTSD, where the nervous system remains stuck in patterns of activation or shutdown. By working gradually and at the pace of your system, Somatic Experiencing supports change that feels stable, not forced.
I offer Somatic Experiencing therapy in Melbourne, with in-person sessions in Thornbury and Elsternwick, as well as online sessions across Australia.
Somatic Experiencing can support you with
Trauma and post-traumatic stress
Anxiety, panic and chronic overwhelm
Burnout and nervous system dysregulation
Feeling stuck in fight, flight or shutdown
Difficulty relaxing, sleeping or feeling safe in your body
Your nervous system learned these patterns. It can also learn something new
Many people come to this work after years of trying to think their way out of how they feel. Somatic Experiencing offers a different pathway. By working with the body and nervous system, we support your system to complete what was interrupted and return to a more regulated state.
When combined with Internal Family Systems, this work supports both physiological regulation and emotional healing, allowing change to be integrated rather than temporary.
Learn more about Somatic Experiencing.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy in Melbourne
Work with parts of yourself, not against them
Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy helps you understand and relate to the different parts of your inner world. Instead of trying to eliminate difficult thoughts, emotions or reactions, this approach supports you to meet them with clarity and compassion, reducing internal conflict and creating lasting change.
In my work, I integrate IFS with Somatic Experiencing to support both emotional healing and nervous system regulation. This means change is not just something you understand intellectually, but something your system begins to feel and live.
I offer IFS therapy in Melbourne, with in-person sessions in Thornbury and Elsternwick, as well as online sessions across Australia.
IFS therapy can support you with
Inner conflict and self-criticism
Anxiety, overwhelm or emotional shutdown
Relationship patterns and attachment wounds
Parts of you that feel stuck, reactive or out of control
Building self-trust, clarity and grounded confidence
You don’t have to get rid of parts of yourself to heal
Many people come to this work after trying to think their way out of patterns that don’t shift. IFS offers a different path. Rather than pushing parts away, we work to understand their role, what they’re protecting, and what they need in order to soften.
When combined with somatic work, this allows change to happen at both an emotional and physiological level. The result is a greater sense of internal coherence, stability and choice.
Learn more about Internal Family Systems therapy.
Who This Is For
This work is for people who are functioning on the outside, but know something isn't fully working on the inside.
You may recognise yourself here:
You are capable and self-aware, yet still caught in patterns you cannot seem to shift
You overthink, overwork, or over-function, and struggle to feel settled or at ease
You carry anxiety, stress, or burnout that rest alone doesn't resolve
You find yourself repeating the same dynamics in relationships, at work, or in life
You feel pulled between different parts of yourself, one pushing forward while another shuts down
You struggle with boundaries, people-pleasing, or saying no without guilt
You feel disconnected from your body, your emotions, or a sense of direction
You have done therapy or personal development before, but something hasn't fully landed
Trauma Therapy in Melbourne
Support for trauma, anxiety and C-PTSD
Trauma is not only what happened in the past. It is how your nervous system continues to respond in the present.
You may notice patterns of anxiety, shutdown, overthinking or emotional overwhelm that don’t shift, even when you understand them. This is often because the body is still holding what has not yet been processed.
I work with trauma, anxiety and C-PTSD using Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems. This approach supports both nervous system regulation and emotional healing, so change is not just something you understand, but something you begin to feel and live.
You might be here if
You feel stuck in patterns you can’t think your way out of
You experience anxiety, overwhelm or emotional shutdown
You feel on edge, numb, or disconnected from yourself
You struggle with recurring relationship patterns
You’ve done talk therapy, but something still feels unresolved
You want to feel more grounded, present and in control
This work is about helping your system find its way back
The responses you’re experiencing are not random. They are adaptations your system developed to cope with what it went through.
In this work, we don’t try to override or push through these patterns. We work with your nervous system, at a pace it can integrate, so that regulation, clarity and a greater sense of choice begin to return.
Over time, this creates a more stable, grounded way of being, where you are less driven by automatic reactions and more able to respond with awareness.
If this speaks to your experience, you don’t have to figure it out alone. We can take the next step together. A simple first conversation to explore what’s been happening and whether this work feels right for you.
You Might Recognise some of this…
You've done the therapy, read the books, and understand your patterns - and you're still repeating them.
You function well on the outside. Inside, something feels managed rather than alive.
You keep choosing relationships that cost you something essential.
Anxiety or fear has become so familiar it feels like part of who you are
You sense there's a version of you on the other side of this. You just don't know how to get there.
What You’re Moving Toward…
To wake up without dread already waiting
To set a boundary without replaying it for days
To be in relationship, with yourself and others, without disappearing
To feel without becoming overwhelmed by it
If this is the direction you want to move in, we can start with a simple conversation.
How This Work Helps You Regulate and Recover
This work focuses on building your capacity to stay present, respond with choice, and recover more quickly when you are under pressure.
Rather than relying on willpower or insight alone, we work directly with your nervous system and internal patterns to create change that is felt, not just understood.
Over time, clients often notice:
A greater sense of calm and stability in their body
Reduced anxiety, reactivity, and emotional overwhelm
The ability to pause instead of reacting automatically
Faster recovery after stress, conflict, or difficult situations
More clarity and confidence in decision-making
Stronger boundaries, with less guilt or over-explaining
A shift from self-criticism to a more supportive inner dialogue
Feeling more present, connected, and in control of their responses
This is about increasing your capacity to meet stress or difficult emotions without being taken over by them. As your system becomes more regulated, new choices become available in how you think, how you relate, and how you lead your life.
How sessions work
Most approaches work with what you think. This one works with where it lives.
Trauma, relational wounding, and ingrained patterns aren't stored in your understanding of them. They're held in your nervous system, in the body's automatic responses, in parts of you that adapted to survive situations you're no longer in.
Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems, and Integral Coaching work at that level — not by pushing you to change, but by creating the conditions where change becomes possible. Sessions are grounded, unhurried, and built around your nervous system's actual pace.
This is the work that shifts what years of insight couldn't move.
I've lived the version of this that made getting out of bed feel like an act of will. The burnout, the breakdown, the slow rebuild. I'm not here to fix you. I'm here because I know the difference between managing your life and actually living it, and I think you do too.
Not sure where to start?
That's exactly what the first call is for. No pitch, no pressure. Just a conversation to understand what’s going on for you and whether this work is the right fit.
What I Offer
All sessions are tailored. There's no formula, because you're not one.
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A space for you to unlearn what no longer serves you, and to repattern how you show up.
Weekly or fortnightly sessions
Tailored to your nervous system’s pace
Online or in-person (Melbourne)
My coaching goes beyond traditional coaching; it is developmental (grows the capacities of the client), based on a deeper understanding of our character, how we use energy, polyvagal-informed and utilises the latest research and practices in the autonomic nervous system. My methods offer you the opportunity for deep and long lasting change.
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8-week container for a small group journey.
Learn the foundations of nervous-system based change
Practice in a safe group
Receive guidance and support
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Workshops and 1:1 sessions for conscious leaders, especially those navigating high-pressure environments.
“The most unique aspect of our work together was the incorporation of body work. Simple exercises and experiments not only helped me realise elements at play but also helped me short circuit internal whirlwind to manage stress. I left every session feeling energised and with a renewed sense of clarity.
One of the most impactful changes was my ability to set and maintain boundaries at work. As a result, I now find that my time and work are better respected, leading to a more balanced and manageable workload. Another major breakthrough was identifying and reassessing some long-held beliefs that were no longer serving me. It enabled me to take actions that I previously wouldn't have considered possible.”
Servane
BOOK A FREE CALL
The next step is to fill out an application form and schedule a free 30-minute chemistry call.
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Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-based approach to healing trauma developed by Dr Peter Levine. Unlike traditional talk therapy, which works primarily through narrative and insight, SE works with the felt sense in the body. Trauma is stored not just in memory, but as incomplete survival responses held in the nervous system. SE gently helps the body complete those responses, restoring a natural sense of safety and flow. You do not need to re-tell or re-live your story to experience relief.
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IFS is a well-researched therapeutic model that understands the mind as made up of different parts, each with its own perspective, feelings, and role. When we have been through difficult experiences, some parts take on protective or burdensome roles that can create conflict, self-criticism, or emotional shutdown. IFS helps you build a compassionate relationship with all your parts from a place of Self, the calm, curious, grounded centre that is already within you. Sessions feel collaborative, not clinical.
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Yes. Complex PTSD typically develops from prolonged or repeated relational trauma, such as childhood neglect, emotional abuse, or being in a controlling relationship. The symptoms, including hypervigilance, emotional dysregulation, shame, and difficulty trusting others, are signs of a nervous system that adapted to survive. The combination of Somatic Experiencing, IFS, and polyvagal-informed coaching is particularly well-suited to this kind of healing. You do not need a formal diagnosis to work together. If you recognise yourself in the description, that is enough to begin.
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This work sits at the intersection of both. As an ICF-credentialed coach (PCC) and certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), I bring the depth of trauma-informed somatic work alongside the forward-looking, capacity-building orientation of coaching. If you are currently in crisis or managing acute psychiatric symptoms, a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist may be the right first step. For most people seeking to heal relational wounds, regulate their nervous system, and grow into a fuller version of themselves, this integrative approach offers something that neither coaching nor traditional therapy alone tends to provide.
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In-person sessions are available at Melbourne Integrated Therapies in Thornbury and Glo Health in Elsternwick. Online sessions are available via Zoom for clients anywhere in Australia or internationally. Many clients find that online sessions are just as effective for this kind of work.
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Every person's nervous system is different, and healing is not linear. That said, many clients notice meaningful shifts in their felt sense of safety and self-awareness within the first few sessions. Deeper, more durable change, especially for complex trauma, typically unfolds over months rather than weeks. The 12-session integration package is structured to give you a genuine arc of transformation, with progress tracked at baseline, mid-point, and completion.
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This practice operates as coaching and somatic education rather than registered psychological therapy, so sessions are not currently claimable through Medicare. Some private health funds include life coaching or wellness consultations in their extras cover. I recommend checking directly with your fund. Payment plans and package pricing are available to support access.
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The first session is an intake and orientation. We take time to understand what brings you here, what you are hoping for, and what your history is. I will explain how I work, answer your questions, and we will gently explore what feels most alive or pressing for you right now. There is no pressure to share more than feels comfortable. Safety and pace are built into the process from the very beginning.
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The best way is to have a conversation. I offer a free 30-minute chemistry call so you can get a sense of the approach and ask anything you need to ask. There is no obligation. If what I offer is not the right fit, I will do my best to point you toward someone who is.
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This is one of the most common things I hear. Many people have worked hard in therapy, understood their patterns intellectually, and still felt stuck. That is because insight alone does not change the nervous system. Trauma and relational wounding live in the body, in implicit memory, in automatic reactions. Somatic and parts-based work engages the places where the patterns actually live. You may find that things that felt immovable for years begin to shift quite naturally once the body is included.
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Fill out the short application form on the website, and we will schedule a free 30-minute chemistry call. This gives us both a chance to make sure we are a good fit before committing to anything. You can also reach out directly via the contact page if you have a specific question first.