Allan is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. He is a staff psychiatrist at the clinic for HIV-related concerns at Mount Sinai Hospital and was the Chair of the working group on HIV/AIDS for the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He is the author of seven books, including Caring For Lesbian and Gay People: A Clinical Guide (with Dr Cathy Risdon, University of Toronto Press). Dr. Peterkin has been leading a Narrative (Therapeutic Writing) Group for men and women living with HIV for the past six years and is the editor of a forthcoming book of narratives by people living with HIV/AIDS called Still Here: A Post-Cocktail AIDS Anthology.