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 in her Director of Assessment role, 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 personally trained, mentored, and taught close to 100 trauma psychologists during their graduate training. She taught graduate-level trauma psychology, personality assessment, and trauma assessment and supervised student therapy and neuropsychological assessment.

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. She has extensive 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.

In addition to her specialization in the neuropsychology of PTSD, Dr. Samuelson conducts research on PTSD treatment; cognitive and psychological resilience; familial experiences of trauma and effects of PTSD on parenting; comorbid TBI, PTSD, pain, and substance use disorders; and effects of torture and violence on refugee mental health. She has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on research grants totaling over $10 million, including from the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. Dr. Samuelson has an extensive publication and presentation record; additionally, she serves on the editorial board of Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy and the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Samuelson’s work as a forensic psychologist and expert witness began in 1999, providing forensic interviews of suspected victims of child sexual abuse. During her years as a professor, she maintained a small part-time forensic practice. In 2021 she expanded her forensic practice full-time, providing psychological, diagnostic, and neuropsychological evaluations; consultation; and expert testimony for civil, criminal, and immigration cases involving trauma. She also provides pro bono/low bono psychological evaluations for torture survivors seeking asylum.