About Us

At DBT Clinics Australia, we believe that everyone has the capacity to create meaningful change, regardless of the challenges they face. Our purpose is to provide compassionate, evidence-based psychological care that empowers individuals to build resilience, strengthen relationships, and create lives that are both meaningful and connected.

Led by Dr. Peter King, an internationally recognised clinician, educator, and researcher, our clinic specialises in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (RO DBT), and Somatic Trauma Therapy. These specialist approaches enable us to support people experiencing emotion dysregulation, trauma, anxiety, depression, perfectionism, overcontrol, personality disorders, and other complex mental health challenges.

Our Story: More Than 25 Years of Mental Health Care

DBT Clinics Australia builds on more than 25 years of clinical practice, innovation, and commitment to providing specialist mental health care.

Our story began in 1999, when Dr. Peter King established his first private mental health clinic in Bendigo, Victoria. In 2003, the practice relocated to Melbourne’s Bayside region, where it continued to grow and develop its specialist psychological services.

Recognising the importance of making specialist care accessible regardless of location, online services commenced in 2010, well before telehealth became a routine part of mental health care. In 2022, our services expanded internationally to Phuket, Thailand, further developing our capacity to support clients both within Australia and internationally.

From Essentia Health to DBT Clinics Australia

Still operating as Essentia Health in Brighton Victoria, our privately owned psychology practices were founded and continue to be led by Dr. Peter King.

An important part of our history has been a different approach to private mental health practice. Rather than clinicians working in isolation, we have brought together a diverse community of independent mental health professionals who value collaboration, consultation, and shared learning.

Our clinicians have come from a wide range of professional disciplines, clinical settings, and backgrounds. This diversity creates a richer therapeutic environment for our clients while fostering a supportive professional community for clinicians.

As our clinical work evolved, so too did our specialisation. DBT Clinics Australia reflects our increasing focus on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (RO DBT), and Somatic Trauma Therapy, while retaining the values and collaborative philosophy that have shaped our services since 1999.

Our Approach

Our mission is to provide inclusive, trauma-informed, and integrative mental health care that brings together lived experience and evidence-informed clinical practice.

We recognise that people are more than a diagnosis and that effective therapy cannot always be reduced to a single treatment model. We seek to understand each person’s experiences, strengths, difficulties, relationships, and goals and then work collaboratively to determine the most appropriate path forward.

Our specialist approaches allow us to support people experiencing difficulties with emotion regulation, overcontrol, trauma, relationships, identity, and other complex mental health challenges.

Our Journey

1999 — Bendigo, Victoria
Dr. Peter King establishes his first private mental health clinic.

2003 — Bayside Melbourne
The practice relocates to Melbourne’s Bayside region and continues to expand its clinical services.

2010 — Online Services
Online mental health services commence, increasing access to specialist care beyond the physical clinic.

2022 — Phuket, Thailand
Services expand internationally, supporting the development of our clinical and professional work across the Asia-Pacific region.

Today — DBT Clinics Australia
More than 25 years of clinical experience brought together within a specialist service focused on DBT, RO DBT, Somatic Trauma Therapy, and evidence-informed psychological care.

Our History Shapes Our Future

Much has changed since our first clinic opened in Bendigo in 1999. What has remained constant is our belief in compassionate, collaborative, inclusive, and evidence-informed mental health care.

Today, DBT Clinics Australia combines decades of clinical experience with contemporary research, specialist therapies, lived experience, and new ways of delivering care.

Our purpose remains clear:

Helping people build skills, heal from trauma, and create a life worth living— and a life worth sharing.