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The Riggs Blog
The Riggs Blog is a mix of news about clinical work, research and educational activities from the Austen Riggs Center, as well as a source for information beyond our walls that we find interesting and thought-provoking. Senior clinical experts, researchers, and editors review all clinical content on this blog before it is published.
The Austen Riggs Center (Riggs) celebrates its one hundredth anniversary in 2019, and will mark the milestone of its founding with a series of engaging events, curated exhibitions, and a centennial conference, each honoring the institution’s historic legacy at the forefront of mental health treatment, patient care, and research, it was announced today by Eric M. Plakun, MD, Medical Director and CEO of the Austen Riggs Center.
In November of 2016, Dr. Eric M. Plakun’s first piece as psychotherapy columnist for the Journal of Psychiatric Practice was published. You can read this piece and his more recent columns here.
During a visit to the Austen Riggs Center earlier this year, Tracy Prout, PhD, spoke with us about a number of topics including her interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy, working with children, and what led her to teaching and research.
Austen Riggs Center Medical Director/CEO Eric M. Plakun, MD, comments on a recent verdict with implications for mental health parity.
Recreational marijuana is now sold legally in Massachusetts. What does that mean for Austen Riggs?
Massachusetts voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2012 and approved the sale of cannabis for recreational use in 2016. This has led to the recent opening of the state’s first dispensaries—one of them less than 10 miles from Stockbridge and at least two others in Berkshire County with still more planned. Given that half of the patients who come to Riggs for treatment have a diagnosed substance use disorder, the relatively easy access to legal cannabis could add to the challenges they face.
The Austen Riggs Center announces a call for entries for its centennial year 2019 Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media.
The Austen Riggs Center Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media recognizes a select group of professional journalists, writers, and media professionals who create exemplary work that contributes to the public’s understanding of mental health issues.
During a visit to the Austen Riggs Center earlier this year, Emily Weinstein, EdD, spoke with us about a number of topics ranging from her interest in social media research, her work with Project Zero and Common Sense Media, and advice for parents concerned about children’s social media use.
The Therapeutic Community Program at the Austen Riggs Center provides an opportunity for patients to share their strengths with one another and with the staff in a partnership of mutual problem solving and learning. This exploration of strengths has, in different ways, always been a key component of the treatment philosophy from Riggs’ founding in 1919 to its present form today.
Austen Riggs Center Clinicians will be presenting at and attending the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA) 2019 National Meeting, Feb. 5-10 in New York City.
The Austen Riggs Center (Riggs) will convene a conference of national and international experts in the fields of mental health care, treatment, research, advocacy, and the law to explore The Mental Health Crisis in America: Recognizing Problems, Working Toward Solutions, it was announced today by Eric M. Plakun, MD, Medical Director and CEO of the Austen Riggs Center. The two-day conference, scheduled for September 21-22, 2019, will take place in Stockbridge, MA.
In this guest blog, mental health practitioner Alison Mitchell explores the opioid abuse problem, particularly related to its impact on relationships and rural communities.
The United States has an opioid abuse problem. Though the issue is widely recognized, addressing it remains challenging, particularly in rural areas. The often-confusing array of behaviors and decisions individuals may make when influenced by drugs can be overwhelming, indeed even alarming. One way to make sense of it all is to think of the drug as playing the role of a substitute for human relationships.
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