Psychology Lecture Series presents Prof. Kim Gorgens, Mar. 6

The psychology department welcomes Professor Kim Gorgens as the fourth and final speaker in its 2025-2026 lecture series: The Psychology of Law. She will present virtually (Passcode: PSYCLawS26) on "Brain Injury: Lessons in forensic neuropsychology and self-advocacy from our most vulnerable communities." 

This presentation will highlight forensic psychological practice and research with data from correctional settings and courts, domestic violence shelters, and homeless resources in Colorado. This presentation will also highlight a novel model from Colorado that is designed to disrupt the trajectory of people in these systems to promote self-advocacy and better community re-entry outcomes. The Colorado BI Model is used to identify brain injury history, assess cognitive functioning and psychosocial vulnerabilities and to make recommendations and referrals that support people through and out of the revolving doors of these systems.

Kim Gorgens, Ph.D. is a board-certified rehabilitation psychologist and professor of psychophysiology, clinical neuropsychology and psychology of criminal behavior at the University of Denver. She manages a large portfolio of brain injury-related research and has lectured extensively on those issues around the world. She has a 2010 TED talk on youth sports concussion and a 2018 TED talk on brain injuries in criminal justice with 3.5M views. She has been interviewed on CNN with Anderson Cooper, NPR, and on 20/20 and her work with brain injuries has been featured in USNews, Newsweek, the Economist, People Magazine, and more. She has a small forensic neuropsychology practice with juvenile and death penalty cases and is active in legislative and policy development around best practices in brain injury. Her research studies the reported injury history, cognitive function, and brain biomarkers of all vulnerable populations, including young and older athletes, probationers and inmates, persons who are unhoused, and women who have been exposed to interpersonal violence.  

This event may be used to satisfy the Lecture Reflection Requirement in PSYC206 and PSYC493/494.