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Karen Appleyard Carmody

Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
Box 102505, Durham, NC 27710
2400 Pratt St, North Pavilion, 6th Floor, #6021, Durham, NC 27705

Overview


Karen Appleyard Carmody, PhD, serves as the Deputy Director of the Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress (NCCTS). She is a licensed psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as well as the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Her clinical and research expertise is in infant mental health, child-parent attachment, early childhood trauma and maltreatment, and evidence-based practices to address these issues. Prior to serving at the national level, she served the Durham and NC communities for 13+ years at the Center for Child & Family Health, where she served as the Director of Early Childhood Prevention Programs. In this role, she directed three evidence-based home visiting programs serving over 1,000 families per year supported by local, state, and federal funding, and managed two federal SAMHSA grants enhance Durham's early childhood system of care and support statewide early childhood mental health workforce development. She has significant experience providing trauma treatment to children and families. Additionally, Dr. Appleyard Carmody conducted program evaluation and dissemination projects for evidence-based practices for young children who have experienced trauma and early adversity, including Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). Dr. Appleyard Carmody also is engaged at the state and national level, serving on the North Carolina Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Association Board of Directors (Past President), the American Psychological Association's Division 37 Section on Child Maltreatment Board (Past President), and the Home Visiting Applied Research Collaborative research council.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences · 2021 - Present Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Deputy Director of the Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress · 2023 - Present Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Associate Professor of the Practice of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2022 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

In the News


Published August 6, 2024
Trauma Team Provides Care for Patients While Supporting Each Other

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Recent Publications


Introduction: COVID-19 Related Professional Challenges, Innovations, and Implications for Child Maltreatment Victims.

Journal Article Child Maltreat · August 2024 The current commentary provides an introduction to the special issue examining COVID-19-related professional challenges, innovations, and implications for child maltreatment victims. The editors of the special issue provide a summary of the research presen ... Full text Link to item Cite

Building resilience in families experiencing homelessness through integration of health, parenting and child development programs.

Journal Article Child Care Health Dev · July 2024 Children who experience homelessness are vulnerable to mental health problems, developmental delays and lower academic achievement. Research suggests that parental health literacy, sensitive parenting behaviour and child self-regulation are modifiable mech ... Full text Link to item Cite

Enhancing early parenting in the community: Preliminary results from a learning collaborative approach to scale up Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up.

Journal Article Infant Ment Health J · November 2023 Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC) is a promising home-visiting intervention promoting sensitive caregiving and secure parent-child attachment in families with young children. The goal of this study was to examine a learning collaborative approach ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


National Center for Child Traumatic Stress

ResearchDeputy Director · Awarded by University of California - Los Angeles · 2021 - 2026

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Minnesota, Twin Cities · 2005 Ph.D.