Activities Staff

Administrative Staff

Finance

Human Resources

Information Technology (IT)

Development

Communications

Admissions Staff

Clinical Social Workers

Erikson Institute Distinguished Faculty

Erikson Institute Staff

Faculty

Leadership

Nursing Staff

Online Intensive Outpatient Program

Therapeutic Community Staff

Therapy Staff

Fellows

Psychology

Master of Science in Remote Sensing from the University of Paris in Diderot, France

Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Paris in Diderot, France

Hélène Rieu-Isaacs is the development coordinator at the Austen Riggs Center and contributes to the success and vitality of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, which raises funds to support the mission of the Austen Riggs Center.

Hélène has been in the development and alumni relations field since 2013, first at the International School of Boston and then at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.

Researching and identifying new prospects

Coordinating events for donors and alumni

Keeping databases accurate and up to date

Development Coordinator

BA in operations management from the University of Massachusetts

MS in project management from Boston University

Marketing and Communications at San Ignacio De Loyola University–Lima Peru

Nestor Riva, MSPM, PMP, CSL, is the director of facilities at the Austen Riggs Center and is responsible for directing the execution of critical capital projects. He provides leadership to the facilities department and oversees the functioning of all buildings and systems including maintenance, housekeeping, and contractors. Mr. Riva is appointed by the medical director/CEO as the safety manager of the Center. In addition, he is chair of the Environment of Care Committee and responsible for compliance with the Joint Commission, federal, state, local and other regulatory agencies.

Mr. Riva is a strategic operations and project management professional with many years of combined experience in facilities operations, project management, construction and leadership. He has expertise in multiple industries, and has led and managed multiple priorities and critical projects from inception to completion.

Professional Affiliations/Organizational Memberships

Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute

Construction Supervisor License (CSL) in the state of Massachusetts

Nester Riva, MSPM, PMP, CSL

Director of Facilities

Vincent Roppolo is a Therapeutic Community staff member at the Austen Riggs Center.

Therapeutic Community Staff Member

BA in psychology with a minor in anthropology from the University of Vermont

MA in psychology from New York University

PhD in clinical psychology with a health emphasis from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University

Nina Rose, PhD, is a postdoctoral Fellow in psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalytic studies who provides psychotherapy and psychological testing at the Austen Riggs Center.

Dr. Rose completed her clinical internship at the Brooklyn VA Medical Center, where she specialized in individual and group psychotherapy for veterans with serious mental illness and military sexual trauma. Her earlier training includes work as a therapist at the Pratt Institute of Art and Brooklyn College, which influenced her psychodynamic orientation and integration of the arts into her clinical work. Dr. Rose also has experience working in acute inpatient rehabilitation with patients recovering from brain and spinal cord injuries at Mount Sinai Hospital and in pediatric psycho-oncology at Westchester Medical Center and Boston Children’s Hospital. These settings cultivated a systemic, trauma-informed lens on how medical illness, identity, and relational context interact.

Clinically, Dr. Rose works from a trauma-informed, psychodynamic, and relational stance, guided by the premise that meaningful change emerges through authentic engagement, sustained curiosity, and careful attention to the therapeutic frame. She draws on philosophy and the arts to enrich the work and pays close attention to dynamics of power and authority.

These experiences directly inform her work with patients at Riggs. Dr. Rose relies on a strong therapeutic alliance as the foundation for exploration and change and actively thinks with patients about their difficulties on both an individual and systems level, considering the family, institutional, and cultural contexts that shape their lives. Within the open setting, Dr. Rose collaborates with patients to cultivate autonomy, deepen self-understanding, and engage more fully in relationships and community life, often encouraging the use of imagination and creativity as powerful resources for healing and self-exploration.

Outside of Riggs, Dr. Rose shares her research on therapeutic alliance and mindfulness-based interventions at national conferences and publishes on relational and systemic processes in psychotherapy. She also volunteers at the Brooklyn Book Festival, reflecting her passion for literature and supporting creativity and community engagement.

American Psychological Association Division 29,38, 39

Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) training

Graduate stipend and merit scholarship, Yeshiva University

“Best Poster,” North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders

Structural Assessment of Social Behavior (SASB)

Nina Rose, PhD

Fellow in Psychology

BA in psychology from Southern Illinois University

MSW from the University of North Carolina

David Rosenthal, LICSW, is a clinical social worker at the Austen Riggs Center. He provides direct patient care, family consultation, and family therapy.

Mr. Rosenthal has 28 years of clinical social work experience working at Bennington College, the Brien Center, and most recently at Berkshire Medical Center.

Former associate professor of psychology at Southern Vermont College

David Rosenthal, LICSW, is a clinical social worker at the Austen Riggs Center.

David Rosenthal, LICSW

Clinical Social Worker

Brittany Roy is the HR/payroll specialist at the Austen Riggs Center.

Prior to working at Austen Riggs, Ms. Roy was the payroll, benefits, and systems specialist at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. Prior to working at Kripula, she was employed at Paydata processing and setting up payrolls.

Brittany Roy

HR/Payroll Specialist

BA in psychology with a minor in Spanish from North Carolina State University

MS in clinical psychology from Florida Institute of Technology

Predoctoral Internship in clinical psychology at The Menninger Clinic

PsyD in clinical psychology from Florida Institute of Technology

Postdoctoral Fellowship in clinical psychology at The Menninger Clinic

Postdoctoral Fellowship in applied clinical research at Houston Methodist Hospital

John Rucker, PsyD, is a postdoctoral Fellow in psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalytic studies who provides psychotherapy and psychological testing at the Austen Riggs Center. 

His clinical approach emphasizes partnership as patients work towards their goals and a broader mission of transformative self-understanding.  In addition to clinical care, Dr. Rucker is a researcher who has published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented at (inter)national conferences. 

Dr. Rucker has worked in outpatient, inpatient, and partial hospital programs with patients who have severe and complex psychiatric conditions. His clinical and research interests concern those with longstanding psychological troubles where prior treatments have produced marginal, if any, success.

In his spare time, Dr. Rucker enjoys weightlifting, watching college basketball, and reading.

North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders

International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders

Clinical Affiliate Assistant Professor at the Baylor College of Medicine

Outstanding Clinical Student Award, Florida Institute of Technology (2022)

Paul Baer Research Award, Baylor College of Medicine (2023)

Research Innovation Trainee Scholar Award, The Menninger Clinic (2023 & 2024)

Empirically evaluating psychoanalytic concepts

John Rucker, PsyD

Emma Ryan is the lead nursery school teacher at the Austen Riggs Center.

Lead Teacher Certification from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care

Emma Ryan standing in front of the Austen Riggs Nursery School

Emma Ryan

Lead Nursery School Teacher

MD from Northwestern University Medical School

Psychiatric residency at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Fellowship and Advanced Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Austen Riggs Center

James L. Sacksteder, MD, is a distinguished faculty member in the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center. 

Dr. Sacksteder served as the Medical Director/CEO at the Austen Riggs Center. He was also a lecturer at Smith College School of Social Work for over twenty years. A board-certified psychiatrist, he has been a dedicated clinician whose commitment to the Austen Riggs Center spans nearly four decades.

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 

 with Daniel P. Schwartz, MD, and Yoshiharu Akabane, MD: (International University Press, 1987).

James. L. Sacksteder, MD

Distinguished Faculty in the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy  

Liz Sample is the social work administrative assistant at the Austen Riggs Center.

Sample has a decade of experience in working with at-risk communities, serving in support and outreach with adolescents, seniors, HIV communities of color, and those impacted by addiction and mental health challenges.

Ms. Sample (lizsample.com) shows her photography at The Spencertown Arts Center and at LabSpace in Columbia County, NY.

Photography, film studies, medieval history, and Symbolist art

Liz Sample

Social Work Administrative Assistant

PsyD in clinical psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University

Hannah Schmitt, PsyD, is a postdoctoral Fellow in psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalytic studies who provides psychotherapy and psychological testing at the Austen Riggs Center.

Before starting at Riggs, she trained in university, outpatient community health, and inpatient hospital settings. Her dissertation used a dynamic systems lens to compare rupture and repair in the therapeutic alliance with body movement synchrony during therapy sessions. Her clinical interests include enactive cognition, gender and sexuality, and somatic and contemplative traditions as they relate to psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Hannah Schmitt, PsyD

Heidi Scruton is a mental health specialist at the Austen Riggs Center.

Heidi Scruton

Mental Health Specialist

Meet the Austen Riggs staff of therapists, nurses, administrators, and other healthcare professionals who work as a team on behalf of our patients. 

Staff Directory of Therapists and Teams | Austen Riggs

For more information on our residential treatment programs, or answers to any questions, please feel free to contact us. 

Meet Our Team

Hélène Rieu-Isaacs

Nestor Riva, MSPM, PMP, CSL

Vincent Roppolo

Nina Rose, PhD

David Rosenthal, LICSW

Brittany Roy

John Rucker, PsyD

Emma Ryan

James L. Sacksteder, MD

Liz Sample

Hannah Schmitt, PsyD

Heidi Scruton

Contact Us for More

For more information on our residential treatment programs, or answers to any questions, please feel free to contact us.

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