Allison Joyce Applebaum, PhD

The overarching goal of my program of research is to characterize the profound needs of family caregivers, the parents, partners, children, siblings, and friends of patients with chronic and life limiting illnesses, disabilities, and mental health challenges who shoulder tremendous responsibilities, and to develop support programs to address these needs. To date, this work has focused broadly on the development of psychotherapeutic interventions for caregivers in the setting of psycho-oncology, and has resulted in novel, targeted approaches including Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers, Emotion Regulation Therapy for Cancer Caregivers, and a communication skills training to program to assist caregivers to engage in advance care planning. These interventions represent first-of-their kind approaches that address the unique needs of caregivers at different points along the illness and caregiving continuum. A theme across these projects is the impact of web-based and digital therapeutic approaches on the dissemination and implementation of our protocols. I have received competitive funding for this research from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the American Cancer Society. This work also includes international collaborations to extend dissemination efforts of these approaches internationally. In my role as the Director of the Steven S. Elbaum Family Center for Caregiving Science at Mount Sinai, I am expanding studies of psychotherapeutic approaches for caregivers to non-oncological populations and focusing on disseminating models of caregiver support across U.S. health systems. My goal is to create a home for caregiving science at Mount Sinai that connects all investigators involved in examining family caregivers in any capacity in their research.