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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.
“For a limited time, a special collection of articles on treating the suicidal patient is free access for all readers. The collection includes 12 articles from our Law and Psychiatry and Psychotherapy columns concerning Therapeutic Risk Management, Chain Analysis of Suicidal Ideation and Behavior, the Pros and Cons of Introducing a Suicide-Specific Diagnosis, Psychotherapy with the Suicidal Patient, and Balancing Confidentiality and Patient Care.”
The Erikson Institute for Education and Research of the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, MA invites applications for the fall 2020 Erikson Scholar-in-Residence. The Erikson Institute bridges the clinical work of the Austen Riggs Center, which treats patients with complex psychiatric disorders, and the wider academic and professional communities. Erikson Scholars engage in interdisciplinary work that spans a broad range of psychiatric, social, cultural and theoretical issues.
The Austen Riggs Center welcomed more than 200 individuals to our Centennial Conference–The Mental Health Crisis in America: Recognizing Problems, Working Toward Solutions–at Tanglewood’s new Linde Center for Music and Learning.
One of our proposed Four Freedoms of Mental Health is the freedom to pursue recovery.
Recovery from mental disorders is a process that unfolds over time; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as “a process of change through which people improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential” (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019). Living a self-directed life is a cornerstone of recovery—and a central focus of treatment at Riggs. Given the real obstacles posed by stigma, limited clinical models to help address mental illness for many individuals, and lack of access to medically necessary treatment—especially in the tendency of many insurance entities to limit access to care to crisis stabilization—the prospect of achieving recovery can be daunting.
Dr. Fonagy will give the Session 3 keynote presentation, “The Consequences of Losing Epistemic Trust: A Perspective from the UK on Mental Disorders that Persist and Resist Treatment,” on Sunday morning at the Austen Riggs Centennial Conference, “The Mental Health Crisis in America.”
Mental health care in America has radically evolved in the past decades, with an increasing emphasis on viewing people as mouths to swallow pills instead of seeking to understand the context and origin of their suffering. Pushing back against that trend, the Austen Riggs Center (Riggs) today announced the establishment of the “Four Freedoms of Mental Health Award.” The inaugural award will be presented during a special Centennial Celebration and Award Presentation evening, hosted by actor and director Sam Waterston, on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at the Linde Center for Music and Learning located at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Carol Gilligan, PhD, is an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist; University Professor at New York University; Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge; and author of In A Different Voice.
Dr. Gilligan will give the Session 2 keynote presentation on Saturday afternoon at the Austen Riggs Centennial Conference, “The Mental Health Crisis in America.”
Co-founder and President of Mindstrong Health, former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and recently appointed “Mental Health Czar” for the state of California
Dr. Insel will give the Session 1 keynote presentation, “Beyond Magical Thinking” on Saturday morning at the Austen Riggs Center Centennial Conference, “The Mental Health Crisis in America.”
Austen Riggs Center Summer 2019 newsletter, celebrating the opening of “The Hospital on Main Street” exhibition, exploring the freedom to pursue recovery, and remembering Richard Q. Ford, PhD.
If you are a journalist who covers topics related to suicide, mental health, access to care, the politics/economics of health care, and related issues, this conference will provide you with access to leading thinkers and policy-makers.
Austen Riggs Center’s Director of Psychiatric Education David Mintz, MD, recently authored a piece about the APA Caucus on Psychotherapy and its meeting at the 2019 APA Annual Meeting in San Francisco that appears in the August 2, 2019 issue of Psychiatric News.
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