About me

Kia ora, ko Rebecca taku ingoa.

I'm an Occupational Therapist/Kaiwhakaora Ngangahau with lived experience of chronic and mental illnesses. I have also more recently discovered that I am Autistic and ADHD. I live in Golden Bay, in a tiny house with my dog (Octavia) and husband.

While managing my own mental health and chronic illnesses over the years I have learned many things about myself, what works for me, what doesn’t, and the kinds of supports I need to engage in the activities I want to do. It is an ongoing balancing act and can be frustrating and disheartening at times, but life can also hold so much meaning and joy when you really actively choose what is important to you and where you want to expend your energy.

I firmly believe in the power of meaningful occupations to improve people's lives. Using my lived experience and occupational therapy skills, I want to support other neurodivergent people with chronic illnesses and mental health challenges to engage in the things they want and need to do. I believe it's also important to learn more about the beautifully unique ways in which we interact with the world, recognising our strengths and what we have to offer as well as figuring out, and doing something about, the areas in which we might need support or accommodations.

I'm here to help you work through the hard stuff as well as find the moments of joy and celebrate the big and little wins. Let's find ways to build your resilience and strength, while balancing it with self-compassion and rest.

A woman wearing a blue jacket and glasses smiles at the camera, hugging a white dog with a brown patch over its left eye
A tall tree in dappled in sun stands to the right of the picture with the remains of an old chimney to the left. In the background are many more trees.

Qualifications and experience:

In addition to lived experience of managing multiple conditions, I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a graduate Masters of Occupational Therapy. I was a support worker for many years before becoming an occupational therapist. I have also facilitated peer support groups for people with ME/CFS, provided mentoring to disability support workers and other health professionals, and worked as a DBT Coach, DBT skills teacher and care coordinator in a residential mental health setting.

I have just finished a Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health and Addictions and am a lover of lifelong learning and do lots of continuing professional development and reading in the areas of chronic illness and pain management, sensory processing, neurodivergence and neurodiversity affirming practice, recovery approaches, trauma and somatics.

Hobbies/Interests:

Board games, D&D, any of the LEGO video games, books (especially fantasy and historical fiction), dogs, gentle nature walks, gardening, allergy friendly baking, making DIY cleaning and body products, crochet and cross stitch, singing (especially Disney and musicals)

A crocheted frog with a white belly, green back and yellow hands and feet sits on a wooden bench

So what is occupational therapy?

An Occupational Therapist works “with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement” (WFOT 2012). Occupation refers to any way a person occupies their time and can be broken down into the categories of self-care, productivity and leisure. People’s participation in occupations can be impacted by factors within themselves (e.g. mental illness, chronic pain), the occupation itself (e.g. too difficult, not accessible) and in the environment (e.g. funding schemes, physical environment) and an Occupational Therapist can provide support in all of these areas (Polatajko HJ, Townsend EA, Craik J, 2007).

The Maori Language Commission has translated occupational therapy as: whakaora ngangahau. “Whakaora means to restore to health and ngangahau is an adjective meaning – active, spirited, zealous… conveying the idea of reawakening, or restoring to health one’s activeness, spiritedness and zeal (Occupational Therapy New Zealand, OTNZ, n.d). Occupational Therapy is all about supporting people to participate in meaningful activity and working with them to identify strengths and overcome any barriers to engagement.

My approach is based on a combination of lived experience managing my own mental health conditions, other neurodivergence and chronic illnesses, as well as my background as an Occupational Therapist/Whakaora Ngangahau. For me, occupational therapy is all about enhancing wellbeing by supporting people to incorporate meaningful activity (occupations) into their lives and be able to participate in the things they want and need to do, building on their strengths and finding ways to reduce any barriers by developing the individual's skills, modifying the occupation or adapting the environment. We will do this by collaboratively setting and working towards goals that align with your values, interests and beliefs, remembering that it's not always about doing, sometimes it is also about being, slowing down and finding rest and restoration.