Karen J. Cusack, Ph.D.

Email: karen_cusack@med.unc.edu

Office Phone:  (919) 843-9675

Education:

B.A., Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

M.A., Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University

Predoctoral Clinical Internship, Medical University of South Carolina

Consortium Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke/UNC NRSA Program on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and Systems

Summary Statement:

Dr. Cusack is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Faculty Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. She is currently funded by an NIMH career-development award (K01) entitled, “PTSD and Dual Disorders at the Interface of the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems.” Her current research addresses the relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and criminal justice involvement; and tailoring cognitive-behavioral interventions to treat these disorders among mentally-ill offenders. Dr. Cusack is also a licensed clinical psychologist and instructor in the cognitive-behavioral therapy training program for psychiatry residents.

Representative Publications:

1. Cusack, K.J., Morrissey, J.P., Cuddeback, G.S., Prins, A., & Williams, D. (in press). Criminal justice involvement, behavioral health service use, and costs of forensic assertive community treatment: A randomized trial. Community Mental Health Journal.
2. Cusack, K.J., Steadman, H.J., & Herring, A. (in press). Perceived coercion among jail diversion participants in a multi-site study. Psychiatric Services.
3. Frueh, B. C., Grubaugh, A. L., Cusack, K. J., Kimble, M. O., Elhai, J. D., & Knapp, R. G. (2009). Exposure-based cognitive behavioral treatment of PTSD in adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder: A pilot study. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 665-667.
4. Cusack, K.J., Morrissey, J.P., Ellis, A.R. (2008). Targeting trauma-related interventions and improving outcomes for women with co-occurring disorders. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 35, 147-158.
5. Cusack, K.J., Wells, C.B., Grubaugh, A.L., Frueh, B.C., & Hiers, T.G. (2007). An update on the South Carolina Trauma Initiative. Psychiatric Services, 58(5), 708-710.
6. 6. Cusack, K.J., Grubaugh, A.L., Knapp, R.G., & Frueh, B.C. (2006). Trauma and PTSD in Public Mental Health Consumers with Serious Mental Illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 42, 487-500.
7. Frueh, B.C., Cusack, K.J., Grubaugh, A.L., Sauvageot, J.A., Wells C. (2006). Clinician perspectives on cognitive-behavioral treatment for PTSD among public-sector consumers with Severe Mental Illness. Psychiatric Services, 57(7), 1027-1031.
8. Cusack, K.J., Frueh, B.C., & Brady, K.T. (2004). Trauma History Screening in a Community Mental Health Center. Psychiatric Services, 55(2), 157-162.