How Does Residential Treatment Differ from Inpatient or Outpatient Treatment?

Does Your Loved One Need a Residential Level of Care?

• Ongoing struggles with emotional regulation, relationships, or daily functioning despite outpatient treatment
• Repeated cycles of crisis or hospitalizations without lasting improvement
• Co-existing challenges such as trauma, mood instability, or substance use
• Difficulty managing school, work, or life transitions
• A lack of progress in understanding or addressing longstanding issues in therapy
• The need for a more immersive, structured, and supportive environment

How Families Can Support the Decision to Enter Residential Treatment

• Lead with empathy. Acknowledge your loved one’s struggles. Let them know you’re on their side and want to help them move toward recovery.
• Be specific and honest. Share your observations about how current challenges are impacting their life and well-being.
• Frame treatment as an opportunity. Describe residential care as a chance to step away from everyday stressors and focus deeply on healing and self-understanding.
• Respect autonomy. Riggs is an open, voluntary program. Your loved one must choose this treatment for themselves. Invite them into the decision-making process rather than pushing them.
• Encourage them to speak with one of our admissions clinicians. Speaking with clinical staff can help your loved one better understand what Riggs offers and whether it feels like the right fit.
• Work with their current treatment team. A trusted therapist or psychiatrist can help assess the need for residential treatment and support your loved one in the decision-making process. If providers would like more information about Riggs, they can contact our admissions team directly at 800.517.4447 (Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00 p.m., Eastern) or you can direct them to our Refer a Patient page.

Who Riggs Serves

• Are motivated to engage in treatment and personal growth
• Can commit to safety and active participation in an open, voluntary setting
• Would benefit from intensive individual psychotherapy, medication management, casework, family work, and group work in a supportive therapeutic community
• Are interested in learning about patterns of thinking and behavior that impact functioning
• Are open to feedback and reflection in a therapeutic community

• Require a locked or involuntary setting
• Have active, problematic substance use or eating disorders as their primary challenge
• Are currently unable to participate in psychotherapy

Why Families Choose Riggs

• Immersive Therapeutic Community
  Our therapeutic community is designed to build a sense of belonging, enhance patient authority, and foster interpersonal learning in ways that can help address isolation and disconnection.
• Intensive Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
  Four-times-weekly psychotherapy with a psychiatrist or psychologist forms the foundation of care, supported by 24/7 nursing care and a robust therapeutic community program.
• Interdisciplinary Team Approach
  Each patient works with a consistent team—including psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, nurses, and community staff—who meet twice weekly to coordinate care. This same team follows the patient from the first day of admission, through step-down programs, to discharge, providing consistency of care throughout the patient’s entire stay.
• Family Involvement
  Family members are invited to participate, with the patient’s consent, in treatment planning, family work, and ongoing communication with a clinical social worker. In addition, we offer biannual virtual multi-family education workshops designed to provide a forum for family members to learn more about Riggs, share experiences, ask questions, and develop a network of mutual support among other families.

What to Expect at Admission

• Admission Day
  Includes a campus tour, admission consultation with admissions staff and clinical social workers, financial review, and initial conversations about treatment fit and family dynamics. 
• Initial Six-Week Evaluation
  Includes a comprehensive psychological, psychiatric, and medical assessment, interviews with family members when appropriate, and full participation in the therapeutic milieu, culminating in a case conference, and treatment recommendations. Families are invited to actively participate throughout treatment (with the patient's authorization).
• Duration of Stay
  Many patients choose to remain at Riggs for several months beyond the initial six-week evaluation, depending on personal goals, clinical needs, and progress. At present, the median length of stay is approximately five months.