Intensive Psychotherapy in an Open Therapeutic Community

Established in 1919, the Austen Riggs Center is known for its internationally recognized tradition of providing intensive psychodynamic psychotherapy in a voluntary, open and non-coercive community. Patients not helped in other settings often benefit from deeper, more thorough psychodynamic evaluation and treatment. Riggs offers a continuum of inpatient and residential programs and services within a core treatment framework that remains consistent throughout the patient’s stay.

Many individuals struggling with psychiatric problems find themselves caught up in treatments that are at an impasse, characterized by chronic crisis management and interrupted by frequent short-term hospitalizations. The goal of treatment at the Austen Riggs Center is to help individuals aged 18 and older in such struggles take charge of their lives more fully so that they may return to more productive outpatient treatments and more fulfilling engagement in the outside world.