Kate LaForge
Sociologist. Researcher. Builder of better care.
As a sociologist and health services researcher, I work to understand and improve mental health care, especially during moments of crisis. My research focuses on how people find, use, and experience mental health services and crisis support systems, with an emphasis on equity, personal agency, and developing digital and technology-based tools that help people when they need support most.
I currently serve as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center to Improve Veteran Involvement in Care (CIVIC) at the VA Portland Health Care System, where I lead mixed-methods research on crisis care systems and veteran mental health. I am also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Portland, where I teach Sociology 101.
Books that have been a big deal for me.
The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession Along the Rio Grande — Angela Garcia
Life under Pressure: The Social Roots of Youth Suicide — Anna S. Mueller & Seth Abrutyn
Feminist, Queer, Crip — Alison Kafer
Addiction by Design — Natasha Dow Schüll
Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism — Judy Wajcman
Empire of AI— Karen Hao
The Body Silent— Robert F. Murphy
The Body Multiple: Ontology in Medical Practice— Annemarie Mol
Saving the Modern Soul — Eva Illouz
Life Beside Itself — Lisa Stevensen
Currently reading:
Algorithms of Oppression — Safiya Noble
Up next:
Staring: How We Look — Rosemarie Garland-Thompson
Areas of Inquiry
Mental Health + Tech
When people are struggling, who do they turn to and what gets in the way? I study how individuals experiencing suicidality and emotional distress navigate care systems and technologies,.
Methods
I develop and apply research methods that bridge qualitative inquiry and computational analysis. I also teach and have offered trainings in a variety of research and evaluation methods.
Health Equity
Health is largely shaped outside the hospital. My research examines how poverty, stigma, and policy design shape care and access in mental health services and crisis care.