Activities Staff

Administrative Staff

Finance

Human Resources

Information Technology (IT)

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

BA in computer science (with a concentration in software development and a minor in cybersecurity) from Marist College

Nick Judson is an IT technician at the Austen Riggs Center.

Prior to working at Riggs, Judson completed an internship with the Walt Disney Company where he built upon his customer service skills while working as a Disney College Program cast member at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Upon returning from this internship, Judson worked on contract in the Help Desk for the Schenectady City School District. Here, he kept a knowledge base up to date and answered help desk inquiries for a district of 17 schools providing onsite support.

Outside of Riggs, Judson enjoys art, photography (especially film), and hiking, often with his two-year-old Husky-mix named Gus.

Nick Judson

IT Technician

Cornelia Kalisher is a program manager in the Therapeutic Community Program at the Austen Riggs Center.

Program Manager/Therapeutic Community Staff Member

PsyD in clinical psychology from Wheaton College

Predoctoral internship and an advanced internship at the Albert & Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University

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

Dr. Kazimov has provided psychotherapy and psychological assessments in various settings, including forensic, academic, and community mental health clinics.

Through various diverse experiences, Kazimov has developed a holistic understanding of people’s needs, encompassing not only the biological, psychological, and social aspects but also the spiritual dimensions of human nature.

The theory and practice of relational psychoanalytic therapy, attachment theory, relational spirituality, complex trauma, and grief.

Shirin Kazimov, PsyD, is a fellow in psychology at the Austen Riggs Center.

Shirin Kazimov, PsyD

Fellow in Psychology

Barbara Keegan is the Medical Office Building receptionist. 

Mrs. Keegan has extensive administrative and human resources experience, most recently at ServiceNet, a human services agency in Northampton, MA.

Barbara Keegan is the Medical Office Building receptionist at the Austen Riggs Center.

Barbara Keegan

Medical Office Building Receptionist

MS in counseling psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from California Lutheran University

PsyD in clinical psychology from California Lutheran University

Fellowship in Infant-Parent Mental Health at the University of Massachusetts Boston

Fellowship in psychoanalytic studies at the Austen Riggs Center

Daniel Knauss, PsyD, ABPP, is the director of training and a staff psychologist at the Austen Riggs Center. Dr. Knauss also coordinates the Grand Rounds at Austen Riggs.

Dr. Knauss has worked clinically in a variety of settings including private practice, community mental health, university counseling centers, medical centers, and residential treatment settings.

Dr. Knauss is an active presenter at national and international conferences and has published in peer-reviewed journals. He currently serves on the Editorial Board for the 

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association

 and is vice-chair of the Austen Riggs Center Institutional Review Board. Dr. Knauss has a passion for education, having taught undergraduate and graduate level psychology courses at private and public universities and has experience providing clinical supervision to psychology graduate students.

Board Certified by the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis

Mentalization-informed approaches to treatment, infant and early-childhood mental health, and working with expectant parents.

Director of Training/Staff Psychologist/Grand Rounds Coordinator

BAs in psychology and criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University

PsyD in clinical psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Two-year fellowship with the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis

Megan Kolano, PsyD, is a staff psychologist, assistant team leader, and faculty member at the Austen Riggs Center.

Dr. Kolano has worked clinically in a variety of contexts including correctional centers, community-based residential settings, psychiatric hospitals, psychoanalytic institutes, and outpatient private practices.

Dr. Kolano enjoys writing, teaching and has taught courses related to psychological testing and psychoanalytic theory and practice. She has presented professionally on subjects such as schizophrenia, psychosis and spiritual experiences, object-relating and subject-relating in adolescent texting, working psychoanalytically with individuals with developmental disabilities, and humor and horror in teaching the Rorschach.

Professional Affiliations/Organizational Memberships

Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems (CSGSS)

A.K. Rice Institute for the Study of Social Systems (AKRI)

American Psychoanalytic Association (APSaA)

AKRI Training and Certification in group consultancy

Certified in psychoanalysis by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABAPsa)

Megan Kolano, PsyD, is an assistant team leader and staff psychologist at the Austen Riggs Center.

Megan Kolano, PsyD

Assistant Team Leader/Staff Psychologist

Mitra Kukic-Potrebic is a mental health specialist at the Austen Riggs Center. 

Mental Health Specialist  

Jackie LaBonte, LICSW, is a social worker in the 

 for College Students and Emerging Adults in Massachusetts at the Austen Riggs Center.

Online IOP Social Worker

MSW from Smith College School of Social Work

Stacia Langenbahn, LICSW, is a social worker in the 

In a previous career, Ms. Langenbahn researched substance use disorders, rape, and sexual assault, as well as HIV/AIDS in the context of public health, communities, and the criminal justice system. She has over 20 years of experience as a clinical social worker, working in inpatient, college counseling, methadone clinic, and community mental health settings.

She enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, swimming, meditation, yoga, reading, and cooking.

Integrating psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral approaches to trauma

Mindfulness as an approach to tolerating difficult feelings and a means of observing the self and developing insight

Exploring and helping cultivate wellness in body, mind, and spirit

Stacia Langenbahn, LICSW, is a substance use counselor in the Remote Access Intensive Outpatient Program for College Students in Massachusetts at the Austen Riggs Center.

Stacia Langenbahn, LICSW

PhD in clinical psychology from the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University

Pre-doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at Albany Medical Center

Katie C. Lewis, PhD, is the director of research and medical staff member at the Austen Riggs Center. Her research focuses on examining personality processes in adults diagnosed with complex psychopathology as they relate to suicidal and self-destructive behaviors. Her research has been supported by the Robert Wallerstein Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Research (San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis), a Young Investigator Grant through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant through the NIMH, and the APF/Division 39 Marsha McCary Grant for Psychoanalytic Research.

She has published and presented on a wide range of topics including suicide and self-harming behaviors, personality psychopathology and assessment, and the ethics of confidentiality in clinical writing. Dr. Lewis is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York and Massachusetts and operates a small private psychotherapy practice in addition to her work at Austen Riggs.

Former graduate student representative on the Ethics Board of Division 39

Former Fellow of the American Psychoanalytic Association (ApsaA)

Former Fellow, Psychoanalytic Research Training Program, Yale University School of Medicine

Founding member of the College of Research Fellows at APsaA

Board of the Society for Personality Assessment Representative at Large (2023-2026)

Fellowship Committee member, American Psychoanalytic Association

Consulting editor and special section editor (Clinical Applications and Case Studies) for the 

American Association of Suicidology Professional Poster Award (2019)

PPRS Stuart Hauser Memorial Poster Award (2014)

Long Island University's Dissertation Award (2014)

Suicide, personality disorders, ecological momentary assessment, psychic pain, personality assessment

Katie Lewis, PhD, is the director of research at the Austen Riggs Center.

Katie Lewis, PhD

Director of Research

Courtney Littlefield is an executive assistant at the Austen Riggs Center.

Executive Assistant

MLIS from Long Island University-The Palmer School

Alison Lotto, MA, MLIS, is the manager of the Erikson Institute library, archives, and operations at Austen Riggs.

Ms. Lotto was formerly employed by One River Grants in Troy, NY as a researcher and grant writer. Among the places she has worked as an archivist/librarian include: the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Grolier Club, and as an electronic records administrator for Lincoln County, Nebraska.

Alison Lotto, MA, MLIS, is the manager of the Erikson Institute, library, archives, and operations at the Austen Riggs Center.

Alison Lotto, MA, MLIS

Manager of the Erikson Institute Library, Archives, and Operations

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

Nick Judson

Cornelia Kalischer, LSW

Shirin Kazimov, PsyD

Barbara Keegan

Daniel Knauss, PsyD, ABPP

Megan Kolano, PsyD, ABPP

Mitra Kukic-Potrebic

Jackie LaBonte, LICSW

Stacia Langenbahn, LICSW

Katie Lewis, PhD

Courtney Littlefield

Alison Lotto, MA, MLIS

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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