Rebekah Russell Naturopath - Trauma Aware

19/02/2026

I’ll tell you how the Sun rose

I’ll tell you how the Sun rose-
A Ribbon at a time -

Emily Dickinson

Ribbons of Light indeed 🌅

18/02/2026

Today received the confirmation I had ( finally ) finished the Diploma of Counselling I began last year -with a couple of extensions , missing chunks of assessments and a couple of re-do’s!

Learning ( again) a different kind of tenacity and determination with the barrage of assessments ( or so it felt ), reading material and weekly time commitment -it has felt like the muscle of grit and discipline ( anterior cingulate cortex ?) requires continuous exercise .sigh.

I also received a well deserved dose of humility … quite embarrassed to reflect that I boldly declared I would undertake a Masters …🙃and the reality was that this community college diploma Nearly.Broke.Me 😳.. so feeling very thankful to have made it through …
And definitely not without the support and encouragement of others ❤️

The skills that counselling teaches such as active listening , reflecting , being present and one of my favourites - practicing “ unconditional positive regard” for the person in front of you - has the potential to be utterly transformative.

As a grateful recipient of ( ongoing) counselling therapy - I know first hand how life affirming and steady making such sessions can be when one is feeling wobbly, adrift and overwhelmed in the world .

Ultimately it was all worth it , and I encourage anyone interested to explore the area of counselling -bringing these skills to our communities can help and heal 🙏🏼

25/01/2026

Oops- the other photos I meant to post - very candid but action shots nonetheless !!

25/01/2026

After undertaking the intensity of an accelerated Qantas Flight Training Academy course - Eliza has graduated as a Commercial Pilot 👩‍✈️ ✈️❤️💫!!

I have witnessed first hand the immense difficulty of the course requirements, the unrelenting pressure of study , exams and then the practical component of actually flying - checklists, inclement weather, the complexity of navigation, flight planning and the exacting mathematics of weight, fuel and human cargo … way beyond my comprehension 😳.

I am so very proud of Eliza’s grit, determination and perseverance under pressure as well as her pilot skills ( as evidenced by the flight over Toowoomba we experienced with at the controls 😊)!

Exceedingly grateful for all the support and encouragement- it takes a village to raise a child and a village to produce a pilot 👩‍✈️ - the friends, peers, instructors and support staff @ FTA Wellcamp Toowoomba 🙏🏼❤️

❤️

01/01/2026

So true - grateful for the insights and challenges gleaned by
🌟

This is my intention for 2026 -to live by faith expressed in kindness and courage - and not fall victim to fear .
It is true that both faith and fear are future - focused uncertainties.

What we choose to focus on and invest our energies in - will continue to shape our nervous system in ways subtle and overt.

Rediscovering agency ( self agency ) is life changing and empowering - even in the smallest of ways .. helps us to recover ourselves when we have been submerged and entangled for a very long time .

May we grow in faith and love ❤️ and build a future we all want to live in 🙏🏼x

15/12/2025

Lighting a candle in the darkness .

A small gesture of remembrance for the awful atrocity committed at Bondi beach against innocents - families gathering to celebrate Hannukah - the Festival of Lights .

We are all collectively reeling - in shock and horror that this could happen in our country . A country where people should be safe.

Standing with the Jewish community in whatever way we are able.

“ The light shines in the darkness , and darkness has not overcome it.” John1:5

23/11/2025

What an incredible week spent .

❤️‍🩹Such a privilege to spend a week with these beautiful heart centred therapists and the brave hearted participants who came seeking to heal their lives .

❤️‍🩹Again I was struck by the fact that the adage “ hurt people hurt people “ is in fact not always true .
❤️‍🩹These participants were actively seeking to disrupt the cycle of hurt , pain and trauma ..
ensuring that it stopped with them.

❤️‍🩹Coming away feeling full of gratitude for the space that Quest provides us all .

16/11/2025

This excellent article sent to me by a client who has been having a massage as part of her holistic treatment plan to help manage
chronic and debilitating pain.
After her last massage she said “ Thank you for a positive physiological experience “ and I thought this sadly apt - people who live with pain and / or a dysregulated nervous system -rarely have a sense of ease within their body . The body can be a difficult place to inhabit .

I appreciated this article immensely - particularly that it mentions massage as a therapeutic tool for veterans ( and by extrapolation - those who have experienced trauma ) and as a trauma aware naturopath and massage therapist - I regularly see the benefit of massage as a prescription for addressing the echoes of trauma in both the body and the mind .

In addition, I am about to start a week of work as the resident massage therapist at the beautiful - where Petrea in her wisdom strongly encourages participants to receive a massage for its many benefits.
Interestingly it was during the eighties that I first heard about Petrea ( when I was a young naturopath / massage student ) and she was pioneering a massage program to support young men affected by HIV/AIDS - in a time when no one would go near them - she reached in to ensure they experienced a form of compassionate and healing touch through massage . My heart was moved by this act of defiant kindness.

There is a growing evidence base that demonstrates massage benefits to include :

🌿improves sleep
🌿reduces muscle stiffness and soreness
🌿increases release of endorphins - improving a felt sense of well being
🌿improves circulation
🌿improves lymphatic drainage
🌿improves joint mobility
🌿downregulates sympathetic nervous system activity
🌿manages stress ( from paediatric to elderly )

✨I loved the recommendation at the end of the article that it should be made accessible to all through a Medicare type system .
🙏🏼I also would love to see every massage therapist become trauma informed - to ensure that people feel psychologically “ safe “ as part of the massage experience.

11/11/2025

Lest we forget .
It was a sober privilege to observe the minutes silence today and to think about tje horror and sacrifice of war .

I thought about the grandfather I never met - my fathers father -Lieutenant Gordon “ Dick “ Wilkins who served in the Australian Infantry Forces ( 1915-1918) 18 th Battalion and lost his leg in active service - saving the life of another young soldier .

He survived the battle of the Somme and eventually returned to country NSW to resume his role as stock and station agent for the family business - Abel Wilkins and Co. Gordon was also a farmer and grazier .

He was passionate about advocating and supporting returned soldiers and became the first president of the Wellington branch of the Returned Serviceman’s Leagues and held other positions of influence within the town.

In addition , Gordon became a member for Bathurst and a Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly - a tireless advocate for the betterment of farmers in the region - all with one leg .
Sadly he died at a relatively young age 53 year’s old- leaving my dad fatherless at a young age .
Sadness and gratitude . Lest we forget .

❤️

26/10/2025

15/10/2025

Always grateful to have made the sunrise 🌅
I could not capture the round disc of the sun- silhouetted against the clouds- it looked like the moon !
The natural world always a source of awe 🌅

13/10/2025

I have only just learnt that there is a World Menopause Day on October 18th ❗️and
whether it has been a type of cognitive bias ( a frequency illusion due to the fact I still have menopausal symptoms 4 years post partial hysterectomy 😬) or the fact that more women have the ( hard won) opportunity to speak of the issues the affect our gender .. the menopausal transition ( peri and post ) is being referenced in a multitude of spaces .
And for this I am grateful.

Where once it was a topic that was never referred to ( perhaps only the urgent opening of windows in my grandmothers time ) or it was minimised and dismissed as “women’s problems” …we are beginning to have the very necessary conversations around this pivotal and powerful time.

The above piece was actually written for Women’s Health week and although short, I feel that I have captured something that remains true for all women, at any age and stage.

*Trigger warning ⚠️
It was my dear friend and naturopathic menopause specialist Sally Mathrick who first alerted me to the tragic statistic that from the ages of 50-54 , women have an age specific risk of su***de.
There are many potential reasons for this increase -including the complex interplay of hormonal chaos with impaired neurotransmitter functioning, metabolic imbalance , increased familial stressors ( including care of ageing relatives simultaneously supporting offspring through exams/ HSC/ university) , financial challenges and health issues -all the while trying to reframe ageing in a society that worships youth.

It remains true that we need to speak more kindly to ourselves, lean into our support and connections, value our wisdom and embrace this time to reset .

Seeking out positive women’s voices who can help to educate and encourage has been very helpful to me.
Women like Sally , .mindypelz and are some examples of thought leaders whose approach is both holistic and compassionate ❤️‍🩹.