Edward R. Shapiro, M.A., M. D., DFAPA, FACPsa

Dr. Edward R. Shapiro is the Medical Director/CEO of the Austen Riggs Center. A board certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, family researcher, and organizational consultant, he is also Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. A Founding Member of the Psychoanalytic Society and Institute of the Berkshires, Dr. Shapiro is a Training and Supervising Analyst. An organizational consultant for over twenty-five years, Dr. Shapiro has consulted with hospitals, mental health clinics, law firms, and family businesses. Co-author (with A. Wesley Carr, Ph.D., Dean of Westminster Abbey) of Lost in Familiar Places: Creating New Connections between the Individual and Society (Yale, 1991), Dr. Shapiro is also the editor of The Inner World in the Outer World (Yale, 1997). Dr. Shapiro has published over fifty articles and book chapters on human development, organizational and family functioning, and personality disorders, presenting papers in the country and abroad. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, he is also a Fellow of the A.K. Rice Institute and the American College of Psychoanalysis. Dr. Shapiro has received the Felix and Helene Deutsch Scientific Award from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society, the Research Prize from the Society for Family Therapy and Research, and the Philip Isenberg Teaching Award from McLean Hospital. In 2007, he was named Outstanding Psychiatrist for Advancement of the Profession by the Massachusetts Psychiatric Association. He is a Member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry.

Dr. Shapiro graduated from Yale College, received an M.A. in Anthropology from Stanford University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and Certification in Psychoanalysis from the American Psychoanalytic Association. A graduate of the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute, where he is currently on the Faculty, Dr. Shapiro was a Clinical Associate at the Adult Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health. At McLean Hospital in Boston, he was Founder and Director of the Adolescent and Family Treatment and Study Center and Director of Psychosocial Training and Consultation.

Since joining the staff of the Austen Riggs Center in 1991, Dr. Shapiro has devoted his energies to helping the staff preserve the clinical mission of Riggs while linking the Center to the rapidly changing external world. This has been accomplished through creating a spectrum of programs at Riggs that extend the opportunity for intensive psychotherapy while maximizing patients' resources. In addition, Dr. Shapiro helped develop the Erik H. Erikson Institute for Education and Research as a vehicle for applying the clinical insights developed at Riggs to larger social issues.

James L. Sacksteder, M.D.

Dr. James L. Sacksteder is the Associate Medical Director and Director of Patient Care at the Austen Riggs Center. A board certified psychiatrist, he is also a Lecturer at Smith College, School for Social Work and an Associate in Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts.

Dr. Sacksteder has written over twenty articles and book chapters on the treatment of anorexia nervosa, long-term psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy of severely disturbed patients, narcissism, object relations theory, and ego psychology. He is co-editor of Attachment in the Therapeutic Process with Daniel P. Schwartz, M.D. and Yoshiharu Akabane, M.D.: (International University Press, 1987).

Dr. Sacksteder received his M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School. He completed a psychiatric residency at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry before completing a Fellowship and Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Riggs.

M. Gerard Fromm, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. M. Gerard Fromm is the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Director of the Erik H. Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center. Dr. Fromm joined the Riggs staff in 1975 after completing a 4-year post-doctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at Riggs. Before coming to Riggs, Dr. Fromm was a staff member at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he earned an NIMH certificate in group psychotherapy.

Dr. Fromm is certified in Psychoanalysis by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis and has served as guest faculty member of the Southeast Florida Institute for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, and the Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute. He is currently President of the Board of the Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems, the Boston Affiliate of the A.K.Rice Institute. He is on the Editorial Board of Psychoanalytic Psychologist and is Editor of the Austen Riggs Center Review.

Dr. Fromm has co-edited, (with B.L. Smith, Ph.D.), The Facilitating Environment: Clinical Applications of Winnicott’s Theory (International Universities Press, 1989), published more than twenty papers, chapters and reviews, and presented in this country and in Europe and in Asia on psychoanalytic psychotherapy, object relations theory and therapeutic community. In 1999 and 2000, he was a Visiting Fellow in the Psychotherapy Department of University College Hospital, London.

Eric M. Plakun, M.D., DFAPA, FACPsych

Dr. Eric M. Plakun is the Director of Admissions and Professional Relations at the Austen Riggs Center. He is also Co-Principal Investigator of a prospective Follow-Along Study of treatment outcome at Riggs Center that incorporates objective measures of psychodynamic concepts. A board certified psychiatrist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist, researcher and forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Plakun is the editor of New Perspectives on Narcissism (American Psychiatric Press, 1990) and author of more than twenty-five articles and book chapters on the diagnosis, treatment, longitudinal course and outcome of borderline, narcissistic and other personality disorders. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a member of its Assembly, chair of the APA Committee on Psychotherapy by Psychiatrists, and a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. He is a former trustee of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis. A diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Forensic Medicine, Dr. Plakun also served with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as a member of the written test committee and as an oral examiner. In 2003 Dr. Plakun was selected by the 1700 member Massachusetts Psychiatric Society as the "Outstanding Psychiatrist in Clinical Psychiatry."

Dr. Plakun graduated from Hofstra University and received an M.D. from the Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons. After an internship in medicine at Dartmouth, Dr. Plakun worked as a rural general practitioner in Vermont before completing a psychiatric residency at Dartmouth and a Fellowship and Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Riggs.

Marilyn Charles, Ph.D.

Dr. Charles is a staff psychologist and member of the therapy staff. A poet and artist herself, Dr. Charles has worked extensively with artists, writers, and musicians, and has a special interest in the creative process. She is a Training and Supervising Analyst with the Michigan Psychoanalytic Council, Adjunct Professor of Clinical Psychology at Michigan State University, and Co-Chair of the Division 39 Early Career Professionals Task Force. Dr. Charles has published 36 papers, three books, and two book chapters, presenting her work nationally and internationally. Her books include: Patterns: Building Blocks of Experience (The Analytic Press, 2002), Constructing Realities: Transformations Through Myth and Metaphor (Rodopi, 2004) and Learning from Experience: a Guidebook for Clinicians (The Analytic Press, 2004).

Dr. Charles received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico and earned her MA and PhD in clinical psychology at Michigan State University. Her internship year was spent at the Michigan State University Counseling Center, where she was also part of the Multi-Ethnic Counseling Center Alliance (MECCA). As the co-chair of the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society, Marilyn is actively engaged in promoting community involvement for those in the helping professions, and hopes to become more active in supporting these types of activities in the Berkshires. She is also the Chair of External Education for the Erikson Institute, organizing the Friday Night Guest Lecture series and Saturday morning workshops.

E. Virginia Demos, Ed.D.

Dr. E. Virginia Demos is a member of the therapy staff and a past Erikson Scholar at Riggs. A clinical and developmental psychologist, infant researcher and teacher, she is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Demos has been a teacher of early development and a clinical supervisor for over twenty years in training hospitals and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she was the director of the Program in Counseling and Consulting Psychology. She was also the director of a private psychotherapy clinic in Boston. Dr. Demos has published over twenty articles and book chapters on affective development in early childhood and the central role of affect in shaping psychic organization. She has also edited a book entitled Exploring Affects: The Selected Writings of Silvan S. Tomkins. She has received several research fellowships and is a founding member of the International Society for Research in Emotion (ISRE). She has recently served on the board of the Children's Health Program in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Dr. Demos graduated from Radcliffe College, and received an Ed.D. from Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received postdoctoral research training at the Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, postdoctoral clinical training at the Solomon Carter Fuller Community Health Center, and the inpatient children's unit at New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts, and completed course work at the Chicago Institute for psychoanalysis.

Donna M. Elmendorf, Ph.D.

Dr. Donna M. Elmendorf is a clinical psychologist, Director of the Therapeutic Community Program, psychotherapist and psychotherapy supervisor at the Austen Riggs Center. She has written and presented in the areas of self-harm, eating disorders, and competence and regression in group dynamics. Prior to coming to Riggs, Dr. Elmendorf was supervising psychologist in the counseling center at Simon's Rock College and on the staff at McLean Hospital.

Dr. Elmendorf received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. She earned an MA and PhD. in child clinical psychology from the University of Denver. Following her internship in adult clinical psychology at Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital she completed two year-long fellowships at McLean in adolescent and family treatment and psychological assessment. Dr. Elmendorf is actively involved in the Berkshire community, having served on the board of several local and state organizations involved with mental health, education, and environmental conservation.

J. Christopher Fowler, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher Fowler is a board certified staff psychologist and Clinical Research Associate at the Austen Riggs Center. He is a Fellow and Board Member of the Society for Personality Assessment, Consulting Editor for the Journal of Personality Assessment, and a member of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.

Dr. Fowler has written and co-authored over forty articles and book chapters on personality assessment, suicide risk, long-term psychoanalytically-oriented residential treatment for severely disturbed patients, psychotherapy outcome studies, and psychodynamic interviewing techniques.

Dr. Fowler received his Ph.D. from The University of Tennessee. He completed a pre-doctoral internship in the Department of Psychiatry, The Cambridge Hospital and Harvard Medical before completing an Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Riggs.

Nicholas A. Holliday, M.D.

Dr. Nicholas A. Holliday is the Assistant Director of Admissions at the Austen Riggs Center. A board certified psychiatrist, artist, and fiction writer, Dr. Holliday has presented at the Riggs Summer Creativity Seminars and conducted writing workshops for patients.

Dr. Holliday graduated from Brown University before receiving his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine on a U.S. Army Health Professions Scholarship. After a medical internship at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, he fulfilled his four-year service commitment with the Army as a general medical officer. This included tours in Germany and Brooklyn, and deployment to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope. Dr. Holliday then completed his psychiatric residency at New York Hospital’s Payne Whitney Clinic followed by a Fellowship and Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Riggs.

Cecilia Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Jones is a clinical psychologist and supervisor of individual psychotherapy. She received her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College and her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. Following a four-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Austen Riggs Center, Dr. Jones worked for twelve years at the Harvard University Health Services before returning to join the staff at ARC in 1995.

M. Sagman Kayatekin, M.D.

Dr. Kayatekin is a board certified staff psychiatrist/psychotherapist, team leader and psychoanalytic psychotherapy supervisor at the Austen Riggs Center. A graduate of the Hacettepe University Medical School in Turkey, Dr. Kayatekin completed a residency in Adult Psychiatry at Hacettepe University Medical School and a second residency in Adult Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He had fellowship training in Sleep Disorders at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas and completed a Fellowship at the Austen Riggs Center. Currently Dr Kayatekin is an Advanced Candidate in Adult Psychoanalysis at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and a Guest Faculty member at the Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute.

Dr Kayatekin has held clinical/faculty/administrative positions in several hospitals in the United States and Turkey. Before joining Riggs staff in 2003, he was Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Director of Adult Mental Health Unit at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center (Worcester MA). Dr. Kayatekin is Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Turkey. He has published and presented in fields of General Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Family Therapy and Psychoanalysis.

Dr Kayatekin has received the Most Valuable Resident award and the Golden Apple faculty teaching award from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin. He also received the Paul F. Barreira teaching award and the Medical Student teaching award from the Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Sharon E. Krikorian, Ph.D.

Dr. Krikorian is a clinical psychologist, treatment team leader, and consultant in the therapeutic community program at the Austen Riggs Center. She received her undergraduate degree from the Boston University School of Fine Arts. After obtaining a master's degree in marriage and family counseling from Antioch University, Dr. Krikorian worked with the Los Angeles County Department of Child Services. She earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles. During her two-year clinical fellowship at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Hospital, she specialized in the treatment of eating disorders. Dr. Krikorian completed a four-year, post-doctoral fellowship at the Center and has also served as consulting psychologist for twelve years at the Connecticut Junior Republic.

David Mintz, M.D.

Dr. David Mintz is a board certified staff psychiatrist, Director of Residency Training, and Director of Continuing Medical Education at the Austen Riggs Center. His current academic interests include features of psychiatric education, the treatment of treatment refractory psychiatric conditions, and psychological aspects of taking and prescribing medication.

Dr. Mintz is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed his residency through the Cambridge Hospital/Austen Riggs Center Combined Residency Program and the Psychotherapy Fellowship at the Austen Riggs Center.

John P. Muller, Ph.D.

Dr. John P. Muller is Director of Training at the Austen Riggs Center. Before coming to Riggs in 1975 he was Chair of the Department of Human Services, Sinte Gleska College, at the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, consultant for Indian and Migrant Head Start Programs at the Office for Child Development, and member of the Poverty and Minorities Subcommittee of the Membership Committee of the National Association for Retarded Citizens.

Dr. Muller is the author of Beyond the Psychoanalytic Dyad: Developmental Semiotics in Freud, Peirce, and Lacan (New York: Routledge, 1996). He coauthored (with W. J. Richardson) Lacan and Language: A Reader's Guide to Ecrits (New York: International Universities Press, 1982) and (with W. J. Richardson), Ouvrir les Ecrits de Jacques Lacan, a translation of Lacan and Language by P. Julien ( Paris: Eres, 1987). Dr. Muller co-edited (with W. J. Richardson), The Purloined Poe: Lacan, Derrida, and Psychoanalytic Reading (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988) and (with J. Brent) Peirce, Semiotics, and Psychoanalysis ( Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000). Dr. Muller twice received the Felix and Helena Deutsch Scientific Award from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society. He was the Erikson Scholar at Riggs in 1992-1993.

Dr. Muller graduated from the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has published over 40 articles and chapters in the field of semiotics and psychoanalysis. He is coordinator of the Lacanian Clinical Forum, and has presented his work nationally and internationally. He is a founding member of the Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute.

Jane Tillman, Ph.D., ABPP

Dr. Jane G. Tillman is a clinical psychologist, treatment team leader, a supervisor of psychotherapy and psychological testing, and the Manager of Performance Improvement at the Austen Riggs Center. She is also the Chair of the Erikson Scholar Search Committee

Dr. Tillman is certified in both Psychoanalysis and Clinical Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. She has served as the President of the Section for Women, Gender and Psychoanalysis for Division 39 (Psychoanalysis), and is on the Editorial Board of Psychoanalytic Psychology. Dr. Tillman has published and presented papers on a wide variety of topics including: dissociation, psychosis, religion, erotized transference, impasses in treatment, and the effect of patient suicide on clinicians.

Dr. Tillman attended the University of the South and received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She earned a M.Div. from Duke University, and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Following her internship in clinical psychology at the Dartmouth Medical School, Dr. Tillman completed a Fellowship and Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Riggs.