Meet Our Counselling & Psychology Team: Elysia Bullen and Valentina Ukich
Meet Our Counselling & Psychology Team: Elysia Bullen and Valentina Ukich
We’re excited to introduce two wonderful additions to the mental health side of The Wellness Place — Elysia Bullen, our registered counsellor and psychotherapist, and Valentina Ukich, our registered psychologist. Together they bring decades of experience, warmth, and a truly whole-person approach to counselling and psychology in Bassendean.
Elysia is available by appointment on Saturdays, and Valentina is available by appointment on Fridays. Whether you’re looking for short-term support, a space to work through grief or trauma, or deeper, longer-term therapy, there’s now a dedicated mental health professional to meet you where you are.
Meet Elysia Bullen — Counsellor & Psychotherapist
Elysia is a registered counsellor and psychotherapist (PACFA) who completed a postgraduate Master of Counselling at Edith Cowan University, with additional training in gestalt psychotherapy. She offers in-person and telehealth support to individuals aged 16 years and above.
Her areas of focus include anxiety, depression, grief and loss (including ambiguous loss), chronic health issues and chronic pain, women’s health concerns, trauma, shame and body image concerns, interpersonal difficulties, relationship issues, and neurodivergence.
Elysia’s approach is grounded in gestalt therapy and a strong focus on the client’s present-moment experience. She also draws on evidence-based frameworks including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Schema Therapy, alongside mindfulness and somatic-based approaches where appropriate.
She has a particular interest in the intersection between mental and physical health — including the impact that stress, trauma, emotional overwhelm, and nervous system dysregulation can have on the body. Her style is warm, relaxed, and conversational: she doesn’t pathologise or diagnose, but meets clients with compassion, curiosity, and non-judgement.
Learn more about Elysia’s full profile.
Meet Valentina Ukich — Registered Psychologist
Valentina is a highly experienced registered psychologist offering thoughtful, depth-oriented psychological care for adolescents (14+), adults, couples, and families. With 30 years of experience across community and private practice settings, her work is designed for people seeking not just symptom relief, but meaningful psychological integration, sustainable functioning, and reconnection with self.
Her clinical areas of focus include anxiety, depression and mood disorders; trauma, grief and loss (including developmental, attachment, and war-related); relationship, marital and family concerns; fertility, pregnancy and perinatal mental health; parenting and intergenerational patterns; work or motor vehicle accidents (workers comp or ICWA); substance use and dependency; workplace stress, burnout and role overload; and peak performance and high-functioning burnout.
Valentina’s work is integrative, drawing on CBT, Schema Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, family systems and attachment-based models, Narrative Therapy, ACT, and mindfulness-based interventions. Coming from a first-generation Australian migrant background, she brings deep sensitivity to culture, migration, identity, and intergenerational narratives — and she is fluent in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian.
Learn more about Valentina’s full profile.
Why a Multidisciplinary Approach to Mental Health Matters
At The Wellness Place, we’ve always believed health is more than the absence of symptoms — it’s about the whole person. Having counselling and psychology in-house alongside podiatry, physiotherapy, chiropractic, exercise physiology, and massage means your body and mind can be supported together, under one roof.
Chronic pain, injury, and stress rarely exist in isolation. A podiatrist might treat your foot pain while a counsellor helps you cope with the emotional toll of living with that pain. An exercise physiologist might build your physical resilience while a psychologist supports the mental load of recovery. That’s the kind of joined-up care we’re proud to offer our Bassendean community.
How to Book
Elysia Bullen (counselling) is available by appointment on Saturdays, and Valentina Ukich (psychology) is available by appointment on Fridays. Both offer in-person sessions at our clinic on Old Perth Road, Bassendean — just a 12-minute walk from Bassendean Train Station, with easy parking in front and behind the building.
To arrange an appointment, call us on (08) 9379 3838, or find out more about our psychology and counselling services. Elysia also offers an obligation-free 15-minute phone call to help you decide if counselling is right for you.
Taking the first step takes courage. We’re here to make it feel a little easier.