This Workshop is designed to strengthen participants' ability to exercise leadership in a broad range of work roles through taking up a 

. Building on concepts and practices from psychoanalytic and systems theories, as well as the group relations tradition, the Workshop emphasizes the value of inner experience as an important guide to advancing work in any group or organizational context. Recognizing and speaking to thoughts, associations, feelings, fantasies and other forms of experience in relation to the purpose of the group is what we are calling the consultative stance.

Special Events

Leading from Experience: Developing the Consultative Stance 2022

Registration Fee for Consulting Participants: $525 USD

Registration Fee for Non-Consulting Participants: $475 USD

This Workshop offered by the Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems (CSGSS) is endorsed by the A. K. Rice Institute, and is in partnership with the Austen Riggs Center. 

Race as a lens through which we achieve psychoanalytic understanding is not universally valued or adopted in institutional psychoanalysis. There is either -or-ism-either we are psychoanalysts who stay true to our traditions, or we threaten, weaken, dilute, or confuse the identity by errantly venturing into the social realm. Because of this persistent bifurcation, there is no widely accepted set of standards regarding race in psychoanalysis: for study in institutes, for professional practice, for scholarly inquiry, for admission and retention, or for career progression. The presentation will critique this current situation by examining how it came to be, the stubborn resistances to change, and will discuss how it will be challenged, with a focus on the work of the Holmes Commission. The talk will offer a view of how psychoanalysis will be strengthened when and if it adopts a “yes and” point of view that recognizes considerations of race as an essential additional element of psychoanalysis.

Educational Events

YASMIN ROBERTS MEMORIAL LECTURE - Journeying Toward Racial Equity in North American Psychoanalysis 

 Free Virtual Friday Night Guest Lecture with Dorothy Evans Holmes, PhD, ABPP, FABP, who will speak about considerations of race as an essential additional element of psychoanalysis.

American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting 2022 banner

Several Austen Riggs Center clinicians will be presenting at the American Psychiatric Association 2022 Annual Meeting. See below for dates and times. For additional information about the meeting, visit the 

Psychodynamic Therapy With Self-Destructive Borderline Patients: An Alliance Based Intervention for Suicide


Date: Saturday, May 21, 2022
Time: 8:00-9:30 a.m. (Central)

Read about Riggs' approach to treating Borderline Personality Disorder

Assessing Psychic Pain and Proximal States of Mind Associated with Suicidal Thinking and Behavior


Date: Monday, May 23
Time: 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (Central)

Read about Riggs' approach to treating those struggling with suicide and suicidal ideation

Who Is the Psychiatrist of the Future? Psychotherapeutic Expertise in Psychiatric Consultation to Integrated Care

 (chair); Madeleine Elise Lansky, MD; Sherry Katz-Bearnot, MD; Elizabeth A Greene, MD
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Time: 8:00-9:30 a.m. (Central)

Psychopharmacology Master Class: The Art of Psychopharmacology

 (chair); Carl Salzman, MD
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Time: 1:30-3:00 p.m. (Central)

Read about Riggs' unique approach, Psychodynamic Psychopharamacology 

Theory and Application of Psychodynamics of Psychopharmacology Within the 30 Minute “Med-Check” for Residents and Early Career Psychiatrists

 (chair); Ali Ahsan Ali, MD; Manal Farrukh Khan, MD; Ian King, MD
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Time: 4:00-5:30 p.m. (Central) 

 (chair); Carl Salzman, MD (presenter)
Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Time: 2:45-4:15 p.m. (Eastern) 

 (chair); Steven Sharfstein, MD
Date: Friday, June 10, 2022
Time: 2:45-4:15 p.m. (Eastern) 

Conferences

Riggs Clinicians Presenting at 2022 APA Annual Meeting

Several Austen Riggs Center clinicians will be presenting at the American Psychiatric Association 2022 Annual Meeting.

June 4, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. (Eastern)

We will open with a two hour panel and discussion moderated by 

, that will feature our past and future conference directors: Dannielle Kennedy; David Luna (mak wemuk); Candice Crawford-Zakian and Sheri-Ann Cowie. They will discuss CSGSS Conferences: the Future and Succession. 

After a short break CSGSS members will convene at 12.15 p.m. to hear the annual reports from the Board of Directors, vote on the 2022/2023 Board members and provide input into the revised mission/vision statement.

CSGSS Conferences: the Future and Succession

This virtual meeting of the Center for the Study of Groups and Social Systems (CSGSS) begins with a two-hour panel and discussion moderated by Riggs clinical staff member Megan Kolano, PsyD. Advance registration is required. 

The presentation will provide an introduction to the concept of epistemic trust and its recent application to developmental psychopathology. Epistemic trust refers to trust in communication or communicated knowledge, and has been implicated in both social learning and psychopathology, as a result of disruptions in the capacity to adopt an appropriate epistemic strategy in relation to social information. These ideas were initially based on experimental work by developmental psychologists but in order to develop a broader empirical basis for this thinking, we have recently created and validated a questionnaire assessing epistemic stance (ES)–the Epistemic Trust, Mistrust and Credulity Questionnaire (ETMCQ). Initial findings will be described that suggest intriguing links between the epistemic stance and developmental psychopathology constructs. Mistrust and Credulity scores were associated with childhood adversity and higher scores on the global psychopathology severity index and both factors partially mediated the link between early adversity and mental health symptoms. Mistrust and Credulity were positively associated with difficulties in understanding mental states and insecure attachment styles. The implications of the theory and these findings will be discussed in relation to psychotherapeutic treatments, particularly in relation to personality disorders and working with groups who have been traditionally labelled as “hard to reach.”

Epistemic Trust and Its Implications for Psychopathology

Chloe Campbell, PhD, will provide an introduction to the concept of epistemic trust and its recent application to developmental psychopathology.

Sponsored by the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center in collaboration with the TriTown Health Department.

. This is a free in-person community forum that asks, 

What can we learn from our experiences during the pandemic? 

Outdoor Shrine of the Marian Fathers (at Eden Hill, Stockbridge)

Isolation, anxiety, depression, despair, grief, and anger have filled our days over the past two years, as our society has struggled through the pandemic and tried to figure out how to manage it. Health care workers, seniors, students, teachers, parents, restaurant owners, business people, families, and town officials–many have felt alone with uncertainty, turmoil, and confusion, both about events in our individual lives and about changing governmental responses. Some have even discovered new aspects of resilience, of family and community engagement. This Community Forum is an opportunity to hear from each other, to learn from the range of our experiences as fellow citizens, and to bring us back together as a community as the pandemic wanes.

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

Grappling with Covid-19: What can we learn from our experiences during the pandemic? 

A free community forum sponsored by the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center in collaboration with the TriTown Health Department.

 for a current list of live and on-demand CE/CME courses and events.

The pandemic and social upheaval of the past years have strained systems of care and the relationships between marginalized communities and the institutions that provide education, physical and mental healthcare, and other social services. Understanding sources of rupture, alienation, and disconnection are essential to begin the repair work that will provide access to care and understanding of the diverse challenges faced by children and families during this time.

This year’s Riggs-Yale Conference on Developmental Psychopathology, Family Process, and Social Context will include:

Speakers working in the community as mental health ambassadors

Systems issues around workforce shortages of professionals and paraprofessionals

Cultural humility in work with diverse groups

Ways to improve outreach and engagement with children and families

Riggs-Yale Conference: Repairing Trust and Rebuilding Relationships Across Differences in our Communities

Save the date for our annual Riggs-Yale Conference–July 23, 2022. This year's topic is: 

Repairing Trust and Rebuilding Relationships Across Differences in our Communities

. Life transitions give us an opportunity to find new meaning. At the same time, they can be stressful and hard to deal with, especially in the context of the destabilizing forces of COVID-19. What are you doing to manage the emotional and practical challenges of transitions in your life? What more can Austen Riggs do to support patients as they transition away from Riggs?

This year, former patients, staff, and Board members are invited to attend the reunion either in-person or virtually. On Friday, July 29, we will welcome attendees with events in the afternoon and evening. The highlight on Saturday, July 30, is the panel presentation, which will be a hybrid event for all attendees. Following this event will be small group discussions on topics related to transitions. The Reunion ends on Sunday afternoon, with a closing address by Medical Director/CEO Eric M. Plakun, MD, who will talk about the state of the Austen Riggs Center.

 Please note, due to limited seating capacity, we may not be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend in person.

Remote attendees will have a chance to say hello to each other and review the weekend schedule of online events and activities.

The State of the Austen Riggs Center: A Presentation by Eric M. Plakun, MD, Medical Director/CEO

 at the tent on campus. Check in to receive your welcome packet, have some refreshments, and socialize.

 hybrid event for all Reunion attendees 3:30-5:00 p.m. Small Group meetings on topics related to transitions

Alumni Events

2022 Austen Riggs Alumni Reunion: Managing Life Transitions

Former patients, staff, and Board members are invited to register for the 2022 Austen Riggs Alumni Reunion to learn from each other as we try to understand and cope with the stresses of life’s transitions.

for a current list of live and on-demand CE/CME courses and events.

How does moral injury occur and what steps can we take to understand and repair the damage it does to individuals and institutions?

Hear from experienced scholars and clinicians at this year’s Erikson Institute Fall Conference as we examine moral injury and repair related to:

Moral injury happens at the intersection of the individual, the institution, and society. Often it leaves a lasting wound to the psyche and the soul that is suffused with the experience of perpetration and betrayal.

First associated with war and military practices, we now know moral injury occurs in other social catastrophes such as the pandemic, the lasting destructive damage of the institution of slavery in the United States, and in various institutional contexts including healthcare, governance, and education.

The growing prevalence of moral injury calls for changes at the level of the community that require cultivating moral practices in leadership and policy.

Participants can expect to come away from this conference with a better understanding of moral injury in multiple contexts and practical actions they can take to aid in efforts at repair.

2022 Fall Conference - Moral Injury: Individual and Collective Trauma, and Its Repair

Save the date for our annual Fall Conference - October 14-15, 2022. This year's topic is 

Moral Injury: Individual and Collective Trauma, and Its Repair. 

Explore a wide range of psychotherapy conferences, lectures, workshops, and educational events with Riggs clinicians, as well as online CE/CME courses. 

Therapy Conferences & Educational Events | Austen Riggs Center

For answers to any questions about events, conferences, or CME courses, please feel free to contact us.

In addition to wide ranges of published articles, interviews, and other materials featuring the work of Riggs clinicians, our Resource Center houses video excerpts and select full presentations from past academic conferences and educational events.

An important part of the Erikson Institute's educational mission is providing online continuing education and continuing medical education courses with an emphasis on psychodynamic psychotherapy. Certificates and CE/CME credits are availabile for those with an MD, PhD, or PsyD, and for social workers.

Events

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Educational Events

YASMIN ROBERTS MEMORIAL LECTURE - Journeying Toward Racial Equity in North American Psychoanalysis

Past Presentations

CE/CME Courses

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For answers to any questions about events, conferences, or CME courses, please feel free to contact us.

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