The Riggs Difference: Where Understanding Leads to Recovery
After a rigorous, multi-month review, the Austen Riggs Center’s online Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) has earned its first three-year accreditation award from the Joint Commission, the nationally recognized symbol of quality and safety in health care. The online IOP joins the Center’s residential program, which the Commission reaccredited for the 14th consecutive time in 2024. Joint Commission accreditation affirms the Center’s commitment to delivering clinically rigorous, relationship-centered treatment in a flexible, accessible format.
Online IOP Expands to Vermont — Serving Emerging Adults 18–30
In addition to serving young adults in Massachusetts, the Austen Riggs Center’s online IOP is now available to emerging adults across Vermont, expanding access to high-quality psychodynamic care for people navigating significant developmental transitions. The program supports young adults ages 18–30, including students, early-career professionals, and others managing the challenges of autonomy, identity, and relationships.
“Earning Joint Commission accreditation marks an important moment for our online IOP. It affirms the clinical rigor and relational depth that guide how we work with emerging adults,” said Dr. Spencer Biel, Director of the Intensive Outpatient Program. “With our expansion into Vermont, we’re able to bring outstanding care to even more young adults who might otherwise face barriers to accessing treatment. Our online model allows us to meet people where they are while offering a meaningful therapeutic process grounded in collaboration, understanding, and growth.”
A Developmentally Focused, Psychodynamic Model of Online Care
Through addressing underlying drivers of distress, the online IOP goes beyond crisis stabilization to promote long-term growth. Program features include:
- Integrative treatment delivered by a multidisciplinary team offering individual psychotherapy, group therapy, medication management, and family involvement when appropriate
- A focus on understanding symptoms as meaningful expressions of internal conflict and challenging circumstances—especially those related to autonomy and identity formation
- A therapeutic community–oriented framework that fosters trust, agency, and relationship-based learning
- Online access that carries Riggs’ distinctive clinical approach beyond the Berkshires to young adults who cannot relocate for care
This expansion and accreditation also reflect Riggs’ commitment to access, including financial aid opportunities—such as the Harold Grinspoon IOP Patient Aid Fund—which have supported young adults who may otherwise struggle to afford appropriate treatment.
About the Austen Riggs Center
Austen Riggs is a vital therapeutic community, open psychiatric residential treatment center, and institute for education, research, and advocacy in the field of mental health. Located in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Riggs has been serving adults since its founding in 1919. Riggs’ mission is to promote resilience and self-direction in those with complex psychiatric problems. In addition to the clinical mission, the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center studies individuals in their social contexts through research, training, and education, and conducts outreach programs in the local community and beyond. For more information, visit www.AustenRiggs.org.
Media Contact:
John Zollinger
Director of Communications
Austen Riggs Center
413.931.5816
john.zollinger@austenriggs.net
John Zollinger
Director of Communications
Austen Riggs Center
413.931.5816
john.zollinger@austenriggs.net