Kate LaForge

As a sociologist, I am interested in technology, MENTAL HEALTH, AND SUICIDE.

I am a Portland, OR-based suicide and mental health researcher and fourth-year Sociology Doctoral student at the University of California San Francisco, working with the wonderful Dr. Howard Pinderhughes.

I am motivated by questions like:

• How, why, and under what conditions do people come to engage with crisis text services for suicidal thoughts?

• How do those who use mental health crisis services conceptualize and operationalize privacy, confidentiality, and autonomy?

• How do people relate to technology in mental health services?

• How can we create and adopt patient-driven, respectful, ethical, and useful technology in mental health services?

• How can we develop and improve qualitative data collection and analysis methods to engender respect and transparency?

I have three primary research interests, including (1) mental health services for suicidality, (2) the development, use, and experiences of mental health service technology, and (3) qualitative data collection and interviewing methods.

I have content expertise in opioids, peer support, chronic pain, suicidal ideation, crisis text services, mental health crises, and social determinants of health. I have methods expertise in study design, online focus groups, in-depth interviewing, qualitative data analysis, survey design, manuscript preparation, and data dissemination.

My research has been featured in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, the International Journal of Qualitative Methods, and the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.

In my spare time, I can be found rock climbing, reading fiction, working on knees or some other deceptively hard-to-draw body part in an art class, baking something with a ridiculous amount of sugar, or most wonderfully, hangin’ with my fam.

Books that HAVE BEEN a big deal for me

The Culture of Pain (1991) David Morris

The Body Silent: The Different World of the Disabled (2001) Robert Murphy

Buddhism for Mothers (2003) Sarah Napthali

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (2003) Annette Lareau

Medical Apartheid (2006) Harriet A. Washington

Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help (2008) Eva Illouz

Bluets (2009) Maggie Nelson

The Pastoral Clinic (2010) Angela Garcia

Feminist, Queer, Crip (2013) Allison Kafer

Life Beside Itself (2014) Lisa Stevenson

Outline (2014) Rachel Cusk

A Little Life (2015) Hanya Yanagihara

Kids These Days: The Making of Millennials (2017) Malcolm Harris

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (2019) Jenny Odell

What I’m currently reading

Catching up on my very embarrassing Harper’s backlog

up next

The Body Multiple (2002) Annemarie Mol

Addiction by Design (2012) Natasha D. Schull

Splinters (2024) Leslie Jamison

The Anxious Generation (2024) Jonathan Haidt

RESEARCH PROJECTS

An Exploration of Chronic Pain, Financial Stress, And Suicide

Timeline: 2021-2023

Location in coursework: A pilot project conducted in years 2-3 of my P.h.D. program.

Research question: How does financial stress influence suicidality among those experiencing chronic pain?

Eligibility includes: Being 18+ years of age, having chronic pain, having suicidal thoughts in the past two years, having a current health provider

Methods: I will use a semi-structured interview guide to conduct in-depth interviews via Zoom. I aim to analyze data using constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014).

Sample: I will interview ~25 adults living in Oregon and California who experience chronic pain and financial stress and have had suicidal thoughts.

Study team: Kate LaForge (Co-PI), Dr. Howard Pinderhughes (Co-PI), Dr. Monica McLemore (Co-PI), Dr. Tony Yang (Advisor)

Mentorship team: Rachel Gold, Danielle Good, Mel Jeske, Selam Kidane, Tessa Napoles, Janet Shim, Erin Stack, Anna Steeves-Reece

Status: Disseminating findings

CRISIS TEXT Service USE among young adults with suicidal thoughts

Timeline: 2022-2026

Location in coursework: A dissertation planned and conducted in years 3-5 of my Ph.D. program.

Research question: How do young people view the role of crisis text services in managing suicidal thoughts?

Reason: Mental health among young adults has worsened during COVID. As crisis text services expand, many young people use them for suicidal thoughts, while many do not. We know very little about how young people view crisis text services. This study aims to fill that gap.

Methods: Aim 1: A web-based survey; Aim 2: Qualitative in-depth interviews

Sample: Adults aged 18-24 who have experienced suicidal thoughts

Advising Team: Howard Pinderhughes (UCSF), Janet Shim (UCSF), Erin McCauley (UCSF), Alan Teo (Oregon Health & Science University), Hannah Szlyk (University of Washington - St Louis), Matthew Goldman (San Francisco Department of Public Health)

Mentorship team: Rachel Gold, Danielle Good, Jessica Harrison, Mel Jeske, Selam Kidane, Anna Steeves-Reece

Status: Aim 1 Survey is complete, and we are currently recruiting for and conducting Aim 2 Interviews.

Day-to-day

Founder: qualitative methods group - intERNATIONAL Network of SUICIDE researchers (2020 - )

I founded and co-lead the International Network of Early Career Researchers in International Suicide and Self-harm (netECR) Qualitative Methods Special Interest Group (QSIG). We meet monthly on zoom to discuss qualitative methods applied to research suicide and self-harm. Learn more here.

volunteer: Crisis Text Line (2020 - )

I volunteer as a Crisis Text Counselor on the Crisis Text Line. In this role, I have conversations with people of all ages about depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, relationships, and coping strategies.

Research Associate II: comagine Health (2019 - 2023)

I worked on the wonderful Research and Evaluation team at Comagine Health. In this position, I worked on two main projects:

1. A CDC grant aims to reduce overdose in Oregon. For this project, I designed and disseminated surveys to public health agencies, evaluated opioid-related conferences, designed studies to learn more about people who use drugs and fentanyl, c0-lead qualitative data analysis, and manuscript development, and interviewed peer support workers.

2. The Oregon Medicaid Back Pain Policy restricted opioid prescribing and increased Medicaid coverage for acupuncture, chiropractor, and physical therapy for back pain. I co-moderated online focus groups and co-led qualitative data analysis for this project.

Lead: UCSF Works-in-progress (2020 - 2022 )

I founded and co-led works-in-progress sessions at UCSF for Sociology students. This is a space for students to present academic work at any stage and receive constructive feedback from peers. This group met bi-weekly throughout the academic year.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS