Rate My Professor Karen Ugle

Karen Ugle is a Ballardong Noongar psychologist of Balladong and Bibbulmun descent from southwest Western Australia. She moved to Perth as a mature-age student to study psychology at Curtin University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Psychology and gained full registration as a psychologist in 2007. An Associate Member of the Australian Psychological Society and member of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, Ugle has worked as a therapist and cultural consultant across various departments and organisations. She delivers psychological counselling through full-time employment and private practice. Since July 2024, she has served as a Lecturer in the Curtin School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, at Curtin University. In 2025, she completed her PhD in Psychology at the same institution, supervised by Professor Lauren Breen and Kelly Prandl. Her thesis, titled Decolonising Psychology in Practice: Developing a Holistic Model of Psychological Services in Nyungar Country, employed Indigenous research methods to create a holistic model of psychological service delivery relevant to Nyungar people, including 20 recommendations for practice and further research.

Ugle's research specializations centre on Indigenous mental health, decolonising psychology, and culturally safe services for Aboriginal communities. She has made notable contributions to academic literature on Aboriginal wellbeing. Key publications include the chapter Communicating and Engaging with Diverse Communities (2014, with Pat Dudgeon) in Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice, cited 22 times; Communication and Engagement: Urban Diversity (2010, with Pat Dudgeon), cited 18 times; Benang Yeyi: Tomorrow Today for Aboriginal Community Development (2016, with Cheryl Kickett-Tucker, Natasha Moore, Adrian Ugle, and Janetia Knapp) in Mia Mia Aboriginal Community Development: Fostering Cultural Security; and Exploring Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) From an Aboriginal Community Perspective (2025, with Vicki Russell, Anne Russell, and Ken Kelly). She presented at Curtin University's Centre for Aboriginal Studies Research Seminar Series in 2019. Ugle's work advances psychological practices tailored to Aboriginal contexts, promoting healing and cultural relevance in service delivery.