Rebecca Bergkessel

About Me

I grew up in Le Bons Bay, one of the beautiful eastern bays of Banks Peninsula, on an organic family farm. We lived close to nature — tending a large vegetable garden and orchard, milking cows, making our own butter, cheese, and yoghurt, collecting eggs from our hens, grinding flour for baking, and harvesting honey from our bees. With only a coal range for warmth, cooking, and heating water, collecting and chopping wood was part of everyday life.

I rode my pony, Snowy, to school, where there was even a special paddock for the ponies. Much of my childhood was spent outdoors — building huts, playing in the stream, exploring native bush, trekking the hills, swimming at the beach, and sharing adventures with friends and their ponies.

Growing up this way taught me the value of fresh, healthy food, the healing power of nature and herbs, and the importance of gratitude, strength, and connection to the natural world. The sights, sounds, and smells of nature — the bellbirds and magpies, the sun and wind on my face — gave me a deep sense of aliveness and belonging that still inspires my work today.

My curiosity about people, relationships, and personal growth led me to train in massage therapy, herbal medicine, and Gestalt psychotherapy. I have a strong interest in attachment theory and how our attachment styles influence the way we relate to others. I have also undertaken training in working with trauma and the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model, which I use extensively in my work, as it supports deep and meaningful change.

While I no longer offer massage therapy or herbal medicine appointments, the wisdom from those practices naturally informs my psychotherapy work, contributing to a holistic understanding of wellbeing.

I am deeply passionate about supporting people to live lives filled with joy, connection, and authenticity — helping them rediscover their inner strength and sense of wholeness.

I am a registered psychotherapist with PBANZ