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Common Questions & Answers

Seth Gillihan, PhD
Medical Reviewer

April Hirschberg, MD
Medical Reviewer
She received her medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine, where she was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She completed her residency in adult psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital–McLean combined psychiatry program in 2006, and has since remained on staff in the Massachusetts General Hospital department of psychiatry first in the Center for Women’s Mental Health, and later in the MGH Cancer Center.
Dr. Hirschberg has completed stress management and resiliency training (SMART) certification with the MGH Benson–Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, and is also certified as a health and well-being coach by the Wellcoaches School of Coaching. She is an active member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and offers mind-body stress management and resiliency group programs for cancer survivors and individuals at high risk for cancer.

Allison Young, MD
Medical Reviewer
Allison Young, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist providing services via telehealth throughout New York and Florida.
In addition to her private practice, Dr. Young serves as an affiliate professor of psychiatry at Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. She previously taught and mentored medical trainees at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She speaks at national conferences and has published scientific articles on a variety of mental health topics, most notably on the use of evidence-based lifestyle interventions in mental health care.
Young graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a bachelor of science degree in neurobiology and theology. She obtained her doctor of medicine degree with honors in neuroscience and physiology from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She continued her training at NYU during her psychiatry residency, when she was among a small group selected to be part of the residency researcher program and studied novel ways to assess and treat mental distress, with a focus on anxiety, trauma, and grief.
During her psychiatry training, Young sought additional training in women’s mental health and cognitive behavioral therapy. She has also studied and completed further training in evidence-based lifestyle interventions in mental health care, including stress management, exercise, and nutrition. She is an active member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, through which she helps create resources as well as educate physicians and patients on the intersection of lifestyle medicine and mental health.

Angela D. Harper, MD
Medical Reviewer
Angela D. Harper, MD, is in private practice at Columbia Psychiatric Associates in South Carolina, where she provides evaluations, medication management, and psychotherapy for adults.
A distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Harper has worked as a psychiatrist throughout her career, serving a large number of patients in various settings, including a psychiatric hospital on the inpatient psychiatric and addiction units, a community mental health center, and a 350-bed nursing home and rehab facility. She has provided legal case consultation for a number of attorneys.
Harper graduated magna cum laude from Furman University with a bachelor's degree and cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in adult psychiatry. During residency, she won numerous awards, including the Laughlin Fellowship from the American College of Psychiatrists, the Ginsberg Fellowship from the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training, and resident of the year and resident medical student teacher of the year. She was also the member-in-training trustee to the American Psychiatric Association board of trustees during her last two years of residency training.
Harper volunteered for a five-year term on her medical school's admission committee, has given numerous presentations, and has taught medical students and residents. She currently supervises a nurse practitioner. She is passionate about volunteering for the state medical board's medical disciplinary commission, on which she has served since 2015.
She and her husband are avid travelers and have been to over 55 countries and territories.
- Traumatic Events and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). National Institute of Mental Health. December 2024.
- What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? American Psychiatric Association. March 2025.