
Allison J. Applebaum, PhD
Psychologist
My Role at MSKWe post reviews for MSK healthcare providers who have at least 30 patient experience surveys completed. If you do not see reviews for a provider, it may be because they do not yet have enough survey responses, or the provider may not be part of the group of healthcare providers included in the survey.
Only outpatient providers are included in the survey. Healthcare providers who only work in the hospital or in urgent care are not included in the survey. Pathologists or researchers who do not provide direct care to patients do not have reviews.
Areas of Expertise
My Specialties
- Psycho-oncology
- Psychological Counseling for Patients with Cancer and their Caregivers
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
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About Me
- Founding Director, Caregivers Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
I am a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in helping patients with cancer and their caregivers. In my clinical work, I use a variety of psychotherapeutic approaches, with an emphasis on cognitive-behavioral and existential therapies. I have expertise in using cognitive-behavioral therapy to mitigate anxiety and depression and to improve overall quality of life in patients with cancer and their caregivers.
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I am the Director of the Caregivers Clinic, housed within the Memorial Sloan Kettering Counseling Center. This Clinic provides psychosocial support to cancer caregivers — family members and friends of patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering. For many, the stress of caregiving can easily become overwhelming and negatively impact one’s ability to perform this critical role. The purpose of the Caregivers Clinic is to help caregivers maximize their ability to provide care to their loved one with cancer while concurrently attending to their own self-care, needs, and other important responsibilities. In my work with individuals, groups, and families, I help caregivers strengthen their capacity to communicate comfortably and openly with the patients for whom they provide care, honor their responsibility to care for themselves, and recognize their potential for growth and resilience, and even benefit from this important role.
My research goals involve the development of psychosocial interventions for patients with cancer and their caregivers. I am particularly interested in understanding how we as humans make meaning of the cancer and caregiving experience, and how current empirically supported treatments may be adapted for effective delivery in the acute cancer setting. I am currently conducting research to understand how to best meet caregivers’ psychosocial needs while they face multiple competing responsibilities, and as a result have developed several brief psychotherapeutic approaches specifically tailored for caregivers. Additionally, I am investigating the unique experience of burden in caregivers of patients with particular cancer diagnoses and treatment regimens, such as patients undergoing bone marrow transplantations and patients with brain tumors. I am also very interested in how our current public policy landscape impacts the experiences of caregivers and how systems-level interventions, such as the establishment of medical records for caregivers, can facilitate improved care for families facing cancer.
I am a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, and the International Psycho-Oncology Society.
A psychologist has special training in therapy to help people with mental and behavioral health issues.
My Specialties
- Psycho-oncology
- Psychological Counseling for Patients with Cancer and their Caregivers
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Existential Therapeutic Approaches
Education
- PhD, Boston University
Residencies
- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Fellowships
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
- Clinical Psychology
Insurance Information
Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
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If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.
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Contact and Location
Dr. Applebaum sees patients at one location.
Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.
Colleagues
Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.
Clinical Trials
- Clinical Trials Investigated by Dr. Applebaum
- A Study Assessing a Mobile App to Help People with Traumatic Stress After a Stem Cell Transplant

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.
You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.
Search clinical trialsResearch and Publications
Cancer Caregivers (2019). A. Applebaum (Ed), New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Applebaum, A.J., Kent, E.E., & Lichtenthal, W.G. (2021). Documentation of Caregivers as a Standard of Care. Journal of Clinical Oncology. May 4;JCO2100402. doi: 10.1200/JCO.21.00402. Online ahead of print. Documentation of Caregivers as a Standard of Care | Journal of Clinical Oncology (ascopubs.org)
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Applebaum’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.
See all on PubMedPatient Reviews
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Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Allison J. Applebaum discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
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BeiGene, Ltd.
Professional Services and Activities -
Blue Note Therapeutics, Inc.
Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities
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Bristol-Myers Squibb
Professional Services and Activities -
CareSpace Health Inc.
Professional Services and Activities
If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.
The information published here is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2022 through disclosure submission in spring 2023). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].