As a provider at her independent practice, New Leaf Solution-Focused Psychotherapy©, her primary roles have included conducting comprehensive psychological assessments and providing solution-focused psychotherapy to adults and adolescents. Dr. Karg has held leadership positions on two large-scale epidemiology studies of mental health – the Mental Health Surveillance Study (MHSS; 2008-2012) and the National Study of Mental Health (NSMH; 2020-2022), both of which were funded by the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). The results of these epidemiology studies were used to inform policymakers in Congress regarding funding for the prevention and treatment of mental illness among adults in the US. As a Research Psychologist, her primary roles have included: Recruiting, hiring, training and supervising clinical interviewers conducting psychiatric assessments; developing psychiatric assessment tools; and designing, implementing, and analyzing results from studies designed to assess and treat mental disorders.

 
Dr. Karg is the co-author of the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-5© (SCID-5©) and forthcoming SCID for DSM-5-TR© (SCID-5-R). The SCID© has been known as the gold standard of psychiatric assessments worldwide for the past 40+ years. The SCID© assesses mental disorders published in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders© (DSM©). Both the SCID© and the DSM© are published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The most recently published edition of the SCID©, the SCID-5©, is based on the DSM-Fifth Edition (DSM-5©). SCID-5© is available in three versions: SCID-5-Research Version© (SCID-5-RV©), SCID-5-Clinical Trials Version© (SCID-5-CT©), and SCID-5-Clinical Version© (SCID-5-CV©). Because the SCID© is known worldwide as the gold standard in psychiatric assessments, the SCID-5© has been translated and published in 14 languages, include Chinese, Danish, Dutch, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, and Turkish, all of which are co-authored by Dr. Karg. More details about the SCID-5©, including how to obtain all versions of the SCID-5, are available here.

Dr. Karg has been a co-author of the SCID-5© and Expert Consultant at Columbia University in NYC for the past 12 years. She has also worked as a Senior Research Psychologist and Expert Consultant RTI International in Durham, NC for the past 24 years. Dr. Karg has worked for the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), Department of Defense (DoD), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the National Institute of Health (NIH), to name a few.

 
Dr. Karg has also authored many journal articles, scholarly papers, and book chapters on the assessment and treatment of mental disorders. Results of her work have also been presented to professional audiences in technical reports, briefings, and conference presentations. Dr. Karg is also passionate about making mental healthcare more accessible and free, so she is dedicated to conducting policy-focused research, offering free psychological services to those in need, and being actively engaged in activism and service work in the community. Click here to see her curriculum vitae.