Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Kristin Samuelson, Ph.D. is a clinical and forensic psychologist living in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a former professor who brings over 20 years of experience as an expert witness and forensic evaluator in litigation related to traumatic stress. Dr. Samuelson received her PhD in clinical psychology in 1998 from the University of Virginia and completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Since 2001, her research and clinical practice have been devoted to understanding and treating trauma. From 2001 to 2015 she was a Research Psychologist and Director of Assessment for the Stress and Health Research Program at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, a research program dedicated to the neurobiology of PTSD and trauma treatment. She served as the neuropsychologist for that research program and was responsible for diagnostic and neuropsychological assessment of trauma survivors with PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, depression, and substance use disorders. She is considered an international expert on neuropsychological functioning in PTSD, having published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in this area. From 2004 to 2021 Dr. Samuelson was a professor of psychology, first at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco (2004-2015) and then at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (2015-2021). At UCCS, she and her colleagues started a doctoral clinical psychology program specializing in trauma psychology. Dr. Samuelson served as its Director. She has trained, mentored, and taught close to 100 trauma psychologists during their graduate training. Dr. Samuelson has an extensive publication and presentation record in the field of trauma; additionally, she serves on the editorial board of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy and the Journal of Clinical Psychology. She continues to serve as a research consultant on federal grants related to PTSD. Dr. Samuelson’s training, research, teaching, and clinical work have involved both child and adult survivors of trauma, which is unique in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, where typically professionals specialize in one or the other. As a forensic psychologist, Dr. Samuelson specializes in psychodiagnostic and neuropsychological assessment of adults and children and she serves as an expert witness, forensic evaluator, and consultant on civil, criminal, and immigration cases involving trauma, and PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and neuropsychological concerns. She has substantial experience working with veterans; sexual assault survivors; children and adults who have experienced physical and sexual abuse; victims of interpersonal, community, and gang violence; first responders; survivors of accidents and disasters; and refugees. She has worked extensively, often in a pro bono capacity, with asylum seekers and migrant families who were separated at the border. With over 25 years experience as a research scientist specializing in trauma psychology, Dr. Samuelson is able to provide scientifically informed, firsthand knowledge of the relevant research as an expert witness. Equally experienced as a clinician, she has provided psychological assessment and treatment to hundreds of trauma survivors. Finally, as a long-time professor, coupled with her prior testimony experience, she is skilled at describing the science of trauma in a manner that is layperson-friendly and understandable to juries and judges. Dr. Samuelson has been retained in court cases throughout the United States. She is currently located in New Orleans, Louisiana and licensed in Colorado. Most states will allow for her to conduct psychological evaluations in person or remotely; she will determine individual state board rules prior to taking on your case.