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Biography

Elaine Hanson, PhD, received her law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law and practiced civil litigation in the '80's with an emphasis on head and brain injury litigation and expert psychological testimony, primarily in neuropsychology, both substantiating and refuting brain injury claims. She served as Deputy District Attorney in Littleton, Colorado, from 1982-1984.

Hanson went back to school and received her PhD in Psychology (she had previously received her BS in Psychology) with a special focus in Assessment and Forensic Psychology. As a practicum student, she was responsible for neuropsychological assessment of patients with problems including Alzheimer's Disease, traumatic head injury, alcohol-related problems and dementia. During her residency at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center, she completed rotations in a variety of disciplines, including work in an inpatient PTSD unit. She taught clinical psychology, disaster psychology and forensic psychology as an assistant professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology from 2000-2006, during which time she co-founded the Center for International Disaster Psychology at (UD) and served as director.

Dr. Hanson was founder and past executive director of SalusWorld, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the provision of psychosocial support to victims of armed conflict, natural disasters, political strife, and epidemics. SalusWorld, recently dissolved, collaborated with international local nonprofit organizations to develop psychosocial programming and help heal the psychological and emotional scars of victims of human rights violations and natural disasters.

At Fielding Graduate University, Dr. Hanson is a core doctoral faculty member in the Clinical Psychology PhD program, teaching courses in cognitive assessment, personality assessment and forensic psychology. She supervises dissertation research, acts as faculty advisor, and provides oversight for students in all phases of their doctorate education. In addition, Hanson is Chair of the Senate Leadership Committee at Fielding.