MD from the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons

Fellowship in psychoanalytic studies at the Austen Riggs Center

As the medical director/CEO of Riggs, which is a non-profit, Eric Plakun, MD, reports to a dedicated Board of Trustees. He is responsible for all areas of the institution from the provision of patient care to the operational mechanics and strategic planning. He has a particular interest in mental health advocacy, full implementation of the mental health parity law, access-to-care issues, and reducing health disparities.

Dr. Plakun was the director of admissions for 35 years and has dedicated nearly his entire professional career to Riggs (more than 40 years) and its unique way of looking at and treating mental disorders. Other roles have included treatment team leader, psychotherapy supervisor, and co-principal investigator of a prospective, longitudinal study of treatment outcome.

Dr. Plakun has long been active in the American Psychiatric Association as a voice advancing the importance of psychotherapy as part of the identity and skills of psychiatrists, and as a member of the Assembly Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. He served as Plaintiffs’ expert on adult mental disorders in the landmark Wit v. United Behavioral Health federal class-action. The strong plaintiffs’ verdict was hailed as a “game-changer” in the implementation of the mental health parity law by Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Professional Affiliations/Organizational Memberships

 (APA) - APA Board of Trustees member representing New England and Eastern Canada

Psychoanalytic Fellow and former Trustee of the 

American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis

 and member of its College of Research Fellows

Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Psychotherapy Committee

National Association for Behavioral Healthcare

Board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, and forensic psychiatrist

Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association

2003 Massachusetts Psychiatric Society “Outstanding Psychiatrist in Clinical Psychiatry”

2017 Honored by American Psychoanalytic Association for “Championing psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy treatment within American psychiatry and paving the way towards a return to a more individualized treatment model”

Diagnosis, treatment, longitudinal course, and outcome of patients with borderline personality disorder and treatment-resistant disorders

Leadership

Administrative Staff

Therapy Staff

Medical Director/CEO

BA from the University of North Carolina Wilmington

Predoctoral internship at Emory University School of Medicine

Psychoanalytic training at the Austen Riggs Center (ACPEinc Accredited)

Kathryn (Kate) Gallagher is a staff psychologist at the Austen Riggs Center. She earned her PhD in clinical psychology from Georgia State University and is a graduate of the Austen Riggs Center Adult Psychoanalytic Training Program and Fellowship in Hospital-Based Psychotherapy. Her graduate research primarily focused on understanding and preventing violence against women, a public health crisis rooted in gender inequality and issues of basic human rights. As a full-time practicing clinician, Dr. Gallagher has shifted her attention to another significant human rights and equity issue–inadequate access to affordable mental health care. Dr. Gallagher is especially committed to supporting efforts to appeal insurer denials of medically necessary mental health treatment.

Psychology

Staff Psychologist, Insurance and Utilization Review Specialist

, were interviewed for the American Prospect piece "The Fight for Mental Health Parity."

"Kathryn Gallagher, a staff psychologist at the 

 and an insurance and utilization review specialist, told the 

 that she is disturbed by some of the profit-driven strategies that insurance companies use on patients. Gallagher has watched how companies perform “audits” of high-utilization, high-billing pa

. Companies claim these audits are in place to prevent fraud and abuse; 

Gallagher believes they are in place to disrupt treatment and ration care. Investigations triggered by undisclosed in-house algorithms can create substantial stress for patients and providers, at times even resulting in repayments of previously granted reimbursements."

General Articles and Interviews

Eric M. Plakun, MD, and Kate Gallagher, PhD, were interviewed for this American Prospect piece.

The Fight for Mental Health Parity

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