Austen Riggs Center Receives Four Pines Fund Grant to Increase Access to Online IOP in Vermont

September 22, 2026 — Stockbridge, MA — A new grant from Four Pines Fund will enable the Austen Riggs Center to increase awareness of and expand access to intensive mental health treatment for emerging adults across Vermont. The Riggs program, which accepts insurance and offers need-based financial assistance, provides support to a population at a critical developmental juncture. The grant also enhances Riggs’ ability to measure patient outcomes.

The Austen Riggs Online Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for emerging adults provides intensive mental health treatment for emerging adults ages 18–30 who are physically located in Vermont or Massachusetts and need more support than traditional outpatient treatment can provide. Through an online format, patients can participate in a comprehensive treatment program while remaining connected to their homes, schools, workplaces, families, and communities. 

“Emerging adulthood is often a time of excitement and possibility, but it can also bring significant pressures associated with identity development, social belonging, and self-direction,” said Spencer Biel, PsyD, director of the Austen Riggs Online IOP. “We’re grateful to Four Pines Fund for helping us reach young adults in Vermont who need more than outpatient treatment or brief crisis stabilization to regain their footing and move forward sustainably.”

The Riggs Online IOP draws on Austen Riggs’ longstanding psychodynamic approach to treatment, integrating individual psychotherapy, experiential groups, psychiatric care, and family therapy within a multidisciplinary team. Treatment focuses not only on reducing symptoms but also helping patients better understand the emotional and relationship patterns underlying their difficulties so they can make more informed choices and take charge of their lives.

To learn more about the Austen Riggs Online Intensive Outpatient Program, visit www.austenriggs.org/iop or call 833.921.5700.

 

Four Pines Fund is a philanthropic organization dedicated to expanding access to evidence-based suicide care to all who need it. For more information, visit www.fourpines.org.

The Austen Riggs Center is an open psychiatric residential treatment center and therapeutic community, as well as an institute for education, research, and advocacy in mental health. Located in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts, Riggs has served adults since its founding in 1919. In addition to its residential program, Riggs offers a fully online course of treatment for college students and other emerging adults in Massachusetts and Vermont through its Online Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Riggs focuses on understanding the psychological dilemmas underlying symptomatic behavior so that individuals can increasingly take charge of their lives. Through its Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy, Riggs also conducts research, professional training, and community outreach locally and beyond. For more information, visit www.AustenRiggs.org.

 

Media Contact:
Aaron Beatty
Communications Officer
Austen Riggs Center
413.931.5245
aaron.beatty@austenriggs.net