Acacia Psychology

Our Team

Acacia Psychology

Each day in Australia, 8.6 Australians take their own lives by suicide, 3139 in total each year, often in tragic ways leaving a trail of heartbreak experienced by their family members left behind and the many thousands of affected children this will impact throughout their entire lives.

As a child, Acacia Connections’ founder, Greg Kentish, was told and greatly impacted by the story of his own father who lived the majority of his life without his father (who was killed in WW2) and the heartbreak and lifelong impact this caused losing his dad at the tender age of 6 years.

Greg Kentish believes that truly helping people with the highest quality mental health support in Australia and the world, will help to save the many spouses, partners and children from the effect of losing their parent and the deep profound impact that carries on from this sudden death, often across multiple generations.

Greg is inspired by his grandfathers kindness, tenacity, generous heart and pure desire to help those in need as a life-long calling, something Greg continues each day.

The Acacia Connections Group knows that Every Connection Matters™

We will be always be there for yourself and the community, to provide support, guide and counsel to enable people to be in a better place, free from the tragedy of what occurs far too often.

Meet Our Team

Fiona Reizner

Accredited Mental Health Social Worker

Endorsed & Supervising Psychologist

Jason Dean

Registered Psychologist

Laura Robinson mental health social worker

Laura Robinson

Accredited Mental Health Social Worker

Deb Parker

Accredited Mental Health Social Worker

Annabel Johnston

Registered Dietitian

Greg Kentish founder of Acacia Psychology

Greg Kentish

Founder

Madison Barker director of operations

Madison Barker

Director of Operations

illustration of two persons having coffee

The History

A deeply personal pursuit that continues the helping work that Len Kentish did in the 1930’s and 1940’s, as a Coastwatcher. Len’s legacy as a Coastwatcher involved helping and supporting many hundreds of Australian lives in the Northern Territory. A legacy Greg will continue by helping millions of Australians and International based people through his business, Acacia Connections.

On the 19th of February 1943, Len Kentish, 35 years old was murdered by his Japanese captors in a unique and tragic war story rarely known in Australia. Len was the only Australian civilian captured and killed as a Japanese POW from Australian waters in Darwin during WW2.

Len’s murder left his family with a widow at 38 years old and three children aged 8 yrs, 6 yrs and 2 yrs without a father for the rest of their lives. This had an incredible affect on this family and still does today.

The story of Len Kentish can be found at http://www.lenkentish.com.au/

The Meaning Behind Our Name: Acacia Connections

Acacia Connections was established to be a high-quality provider of support in the workplace and later on, into the community sector. The symbolism of our name and logo supports our mission.

The acacia tree is known as the ‘perfect’ tree that symbolizes the revival of life. Its uniqueness is found in its bark that has been used as a medicine. This tree is highly drought resilient and provides shelter and a safe place. The acacia tree enriches its surroundings by fertilising the ground with leaf litter and blooming spectacular yellow flowers. These yellow flowers represent optimism, enlightenment and happiness. They encourage communication and carry the promise of a positive future.

Connection, as our name describes, is what we do. Connection is the core of our business and we value each individual because every connection matters. We pride ourselves in our ability to connect people with people from all walks of life, histories and backgrounds, whenever and wherever the support may be needed. At Acacia Connection, Every Connection Matters.

"The safety and well being of our clients and staff is always our top priority. Acacia Psychology is currently operating under normal conditions. Due to the pandemic status of COVID-19, some locations may move from face-to-face counselling to secure video or phone. All counselling services are able to be provided 24/7, as always. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and act quickly on the advice of health authorities."