ACA Ballina Chapter - September 2026
Location
Dirrawong Room, Ballina Surf Club.
About
The ACA Ballina Chapter meets in person on the second Monday of each month.
Agenda: Deep Old Roots Counselling: Three Areas of Practice
Working with Men • Screen Addiction Support • Eco-Grief & Eco-Anxiety
Presented by Eric Bollen
Qualifications/background and Bio:
Eric Bollen was a high school history teacher and outdoor educator working with teenagers for over two decades. He has a master’s degree in Sustainability Studies, and a diploma in counselling. He facilities a weekly men’s group in Brunswick Heads, coaches his son’s high school boys basketball team in Byron Bay and runs Deep Old Roots Counselling. (https://www.deepoldrootscounselling.com.au/)
Eric’s passion for supporting men emerged a decade ago after a devastating family break up. His interest in screen addictions comes from two decades of teaching teenagers, and witnessing firsthand the impact of screens on students as the technology first emerged, and then engulfed, schools, students, and his own children. Eric’s beloved teenage daughter nearly died of a screen induced eating disorder in 2022. His interest in eco-anxiety and eco-grief combines an academic interest (Masters in Sustainability Studies) with lived experiences of record-breaking bushfires and floods on his property in Main Arm.
Agenda: Deep Old Roots Counselling: Three Areas of Practice
Working with Men • Screen Addiction Support • Eco-Grief & Eco-Anxiety
Presented by Eric Bollen
Qualifications/background and Bio:
Eric Bollen was a high school history teacher and outdoor educator working with teenagers for over two decades. He has a master’s degree in Sustainability Studies, and a diploma in counselling. He facilities a weekly men’s group in Brunswick Heads, coaches his son’s high school boys basketball team in Byron Bay and runs Deep Old Roots Counselling. (https://www.deepoldrootscounselling.com.au/)
Eric’s passion for supporting men emerged a decade ago after a devastating family break up. His interest in screen addictions comes from two decades of teaching teenagers, and witnessing firsthand the impact of screens on students as the technology first emerged, and then engulfed, schools, students, and his own children. Eric’s beloved teenage daughter nearly died of a screen induced eating disorder in 2022. His interest in eco-anxiety and eco-grief combines an academic interest (Masters in Sustainability Studies) with lived experiences of record-breaking bushfires and floods on his property in Main Arm.