Activities Staff

Administrative Staff

Finance

Human Resources

Information Technology (IT)

Development

Dietary

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

PhD in clinical psychology from Derner Institute at Adelphi University

Postdoctoral fellowship in psychoanalytic studies at the Austen Riggs Center

Margaret Parish, PhD, is the director of patient care. A clinical psychologist, she provides and supervises psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and group consultation. She is interested in the unconscious dynamics of groups, families, communities, workplaces, and other social systems, and their impact on individual psychology.

Professional Affiliations/Organizational Memberships

A K Rice Institute certified group relations consultant

International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations

American Psychological Association (APA) divisions 39 (Psychoanalysis) 29 (Psychotherapy) and 49 (Group)

Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems former board president and secretary

American Journal of Psychoanalysis editorial board

Margaret Parish, PhD, is the director of patient care at the Austen Riggs Center.

Margaret Parish, PhD

Director of Patient Care

Associate of Science (AS) in Computer Information Technologies (In Progress), Springfield Technical Community College

Alan Pholsook is an IT technician at the Austen Riggs. He is committed to supporting both patients and staff through reliable and responsive IT services and is here to learn, grow, and develop professionally while gaining valuable experience in a dynamic and meaningful environment.

Before joining Riggs, Pholsook worked at GoGeeks, a local computer repair shop, where he provided help desk support through a ticketing system. His work involved building and repairing computers, performing virus removals, and conducting software tune-ups.

Prior to GoGeeks, he spent four years at Big Y as a cashier and service clerk, where he developed strong customer service and communication skills by assisting customers daily.

Earlier in his career, Pholsook worked at Project Coach for four years, an after-school program, where he mentored elementary school students and collaborated with high school and college peers. This experience helped him build skills in patience, planning, teamwork, and leadership.

Pholsook is passionate about technology and enjoys using his skills to solve problems and support others in meaningful ways.

Alan Pholsook

IT Technician

Donna Plankey is the accounts receivable & insurance billing coordinator at the Austen Riggs Center.

Donna Plankey

Accounts Receivable & Insurance Billing Coordinator

BS in psychology from the University of Texas

PsyD in clinical psychology from George Washington University

Predoctoral internship at Pathways Community Health in Missouri

Fellowship in Psychoanalytic Studies at the Austen Riggs Center

Board Certified by the American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis

Jeremy M. Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP, is the director of psychological testing, associate director of admissions, and a staff psychologist at the Austen Riggs Center. He is also the chair of the Erikson Scholar Search Committee.

He has written and presented on schizophrenia, paranoia, personality disorders, and psychological testing.

Psychotherapeutic treatment of individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with a particular focus in understanding how targeting mentalization (i.e. how people think about self and other) can be an important focus for recovery. In addition, he has conducted psychological assessment research on personality disorders and psychosis

Jeremy Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP, is the associate director of admissions and the director of psychological testing at the Austen Riggs Center.

Jeremy Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP

Associate Director of Admissions/Director of Psychological Testing

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.

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

Adrian Riva is the kitchen assistant/prep cook at the Austen Riggs Center.

Adrian Riva

Kitchen Assistant/Prep Cook

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 Literaturefrom Westfield State University

Jodi Shafiroff is the director of development and alumni relations at the Austen Riggs Center.

Ms. Shafiroff has worked for nonprofits for more than 20 years, most recently as executive director of the Becket Athenaeum. Her previous experience includes connecting startup nonprofits to the foundations most likely to give them funding, donor cultivation and management, as well as programming direction and teaching.

Ms. Shafiroff volunteers as a development consultant for several Western Massachusetts nonprofits.

Jodi Shafiroff

Director of Development and Alumni Relations

MA in anthropology from Stanford University

A board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, family researcher, and organizational consultant, Edward R. Shapiro, MD, is the Medical Director/CEO of the Austen Riggs Center effective January 1, 2025. Dr. Shapiro was a distinguished faculty member in the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center. He is the former Medical Director/CEO of the Center (1991-2011).

An organizational consultant for over thirty-five years, Dr. Shapiro has consulted with hospitals, mental health clinics, law firms, and family businesses. He has published over fifty articles and book chapters on human and organizational development, family functioning, and personality disorders, presenting papers in this country and abroad. He is the author of 

Finding a Place to Stand: Developing Self-Reflective Institutions, Leaders and Citizens

 (Phoenix, 2020). His book (with A. W. Carr), 

Lost in Familiar Places: Creating New Connections between the Individual and Society

, was published by Yale University Press (1991) as was his edited book, 

The Inner World in the Outer World: Psychoanalytic Perspectives

For a list (and downloadable copies) of Dr. Shapiro's publications, see: 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Edward_Shapiro2/contributions

Professional Affiliations / Organizational Memberships

Founding member of the Psychoanalytic Society and Institute of the Berkshires

Advisory board member of Partners Confronting Collective Atrocities

Board member of the International Dialogue Initiative

Principal of the Boswell Group of New York

Clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine

Certification in Psychoanalysis from the American Psychoanalytic Association

Fellow of the A.K. Rice Institute and the American College of Psychoanalysis

Felix and Helene Deutsch Scientific Award from the Boston Psychoanalytic Society

Research Prize from the Society for Family Therapy and Research

Philip Isenberg Teaching Award from McLean Hospital

Named 2007 “Outstanding Psychiatrist for Advancement of the Profession” by the Massachusetts Psychiatric Association

Named “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report since 2011

Edward R. Shapiro, MD

Medical Director/CEO

Joanne Stringer is the accounts payable and payroll coordinator at the Austen Riggs Center.

Joanne Stringer

Accounts Payable and Payroll Coordinator 

BA from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Pre-doctoral internship at the Dartmouth Medical School

Fellowship in psychoanalytic studies at the Austen Riggs Center

Graduate of the Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute

As the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Director of the Erikson Institute, Jane G. Tillman, PhD, ABPP, works to develop existing and new programs to support psychoanalytic education, training, scholarship, research, interdisciplinary studies, and advocacy that contribute to knowledge about human development across the lifespan and the ways identity is shaped in various sociocultural and historical contexts. Developing Riggs’ institutional archives and specialty library to contribute to scholarly research is also a significant aspect of the Erikson Institute. Applying the clinical learning available at the Austen Riggs Center to larger social contexts and problems in order to contribute to our local community and beyond by improving access to mental health care, addressing issues of stigma, collaborative care, and suicide prevention are all aspects of the Erikson Institute.

As a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst, Dr. Tillman treats patients at the Center. And, as a researcher, she is interested in suicide prevention and post-vention.

Dr. Tillman presents her scholarship and research in international forums including seminars, lectures, conferences, and publications.

Prior to entering the field of psychology Dr. Tillman was a flight paramedic for UNC Air Care. She is also an Episcopal priest serving a local congregation. Dr. Tillman notes, “In my work at Riggs I am made mindful of the various traumatic situations that contribute to suffering and the psychological and spiritual questions that arise in relation to suffering and meaning making.”

Outside of Riggs Dr. Tillman serves on several editorial boards for professional journals. She volunteers to present to local organizations and churches on the topic of suicide, trauma, and other organizational issues, and has served as an organizational consultant to several psychoanalytic institutes as they sought to understand institutional challenges.

American Psychological Association Division 39 (Psychoanalysis)

Western Massachusetts Albany Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology

Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in Psychoanalysis and in Clinical Psychology

Board Certified by the American Board of Psychoanalysis

Assistant clinical professor at the Yale Child Study Center

Teaching associate in psychiatry at the Cambridge Health Alliance of Harvard Medical School

The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association

Hans H. Strupp Award (2021) Appalachian Psychoanalytic Society

Award for Best Poster (2019) American Association of Suicidology

Ernest and Gertrude Ticho Memorial Lecture Prize (2019), American Psychoanalytic Association

Award for Excellence in Leadership (2010), Section for Women, Gender and Psychoanalysis, Division 39 of the APA

Dissociation, psychosis, religion, impasses in treatment, embodiment, clinical and professional ethics, research methodology, identifying markers for acute risk of suicide, and the effect of patient suicide on clinicians

Jane G. Tillman, PhD, ABPP

Evelyn Stefansson Nef Director of the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy

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

Administrative Staff

Margaret Parish, PhD, ABPP

Alan Pholsook

Donna Plankey

Jeremy Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP

Hélène Rieu-Isaacs

Nestor Riva, MSPM, PMP, CSL

Adrian Riva

Brittany Roy

Jodi Shafiroff

Edward R. Shapiro, MD

Joanne Stringer

Jane G. Tillman, PhD, ABPP

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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