Program Leadership

Carla Marienfeld, M.D., DFAPA, FASAM

Program Director

Carla Marienfeld, MD, DFAPA, FASAM is board-certified in psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and addiction medicine, and she is a Clinical Professor at the University of California San Diego who supports recovery in an evidence based, harm-reduction approach through therapy, motivational interviewing, and medication treatment. Her research involves analysis of electronic medical record data for individuals with substance use disorders.  She has authored or co-authored over 35 peer reviewed articles, book chapters, practice guidelines, and invited commentaries, and she edited two books:  Motivational Interviewing for Clinical Practice and Absolute Addiction Psychiatry Review:  An essential board exam study guide. She has been highly involved in education of colleagues and trainees about addiction psychiatry and effective interventions including buprenorphine treatment and motivational interviewing, and she is the fellowship director for the UCSD Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. Dr. Marienfeld completed a fellowship in addiction psychiatry and residency training in psychiatry at Yale. During her residency, she was chief resident of psychiatry and founded (and later led) the Yale Global Mental Health Program. She earned a medical degree with honors from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.  She is active in many professional organizations, including the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the American Association of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association.