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The First Six Weeks
Understanding your troubles begins with an integrated deep dive that gives you answers and lays out options to move forward.
What Can You Expect from Riggs Initial Evaluation and Treatment?
Individuals come to Riggs when they are overwhelmed with trouble and are struggling in ways they can't make sense of. Many cannot understand what they are up against, why their feelings overwhelm them, why they are stuck in their development, and why other treatments have not worked for them. At Riggs, we offer an opportunity to find a way forward in a supportive and therapeutic environment.
Our six-week initial evaluation and treatment offers a wide array of expert perspectives and experiences so that by the end of the six weeks, you will have:
- a clear diagnosis,
- an understanding of how your mind works,
- an initial perspective on your family dynamics,
- a picture of what has led you to the current impasse, and
- an experience of engaging in a range of treatment offerings (including intensive psychotherapy, family work, involvement in a therapeutic community, creative activities, and much more).
At the conclusion of this evaluation, you will have the information and tools you need to begin taking up authority for the next steps in your treatment.
For some, the six-week program at Riggs provides enough momentum to return to outpatient care. In that case, we work collaboratively to find treatment options in their local community to continue their work, passing along the in-depth history, medical and psychological testing, and a summary of the work done at Riggs.
Most patients, however, choose to extend their stay at Riggs where continued treatment offers an opportunity to deepen self-understanding, improve relationships, and take increasing ownership of the path ahead.
What Programs and Services Are Offered During the First Six Weeks?
During your first six weeks (and throughout your stay), your dedicated multidisciplinary treatment team meets twice weekly to integrate different staff perspectives across our comprehensive programs and services (listed below) and works with you to develop an individual treatment plan.
Psychotherapy
Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy is central to your care here at Riggs. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is an intensive treatment in which you and your therapist work together to better understand your emotional experience, relationship patterns, and conflicting desires, with a goal of freeing you to make choices and build relationships that support you in pursuing your goals. Learn more about psychotherapy.
Family Work
During the first six weeks, clinical social workers talk with you and members of your family to gather a detailed multigenerational family history in order to understand the current situation in a historical context. They also work with you to explore different ways you might include your family in your work at Riggs. Learn more about family work.
Nursing
Nursing staff are on duty 24/7 and offer support, education, and assistance. You will have a dedicated nursing care coordinator as part of your treatment team who offers understanding and guidance in managing daily life at Riggs. Learn more about nursing.
Therapeutic Community Program
In the Therapeutic Community Program (TCP), you can understand more about how other people see you and experiment with new ways of being in relationships by using some of the learning that comes from psychotherapy. Learn more about the Therapeutic Community
Health & Wellness
By participating in the Health and Wellness Program, you have an opportunity to become more aware of your body, develop self-regulation skills, and build resilience. Learn more about the Health and Wellness Program.
Clinical Casework
Clinical casework is collaborative and task-focused, addressing a range of issues to provide opportunities for you to learn about setting realistic expectations, accepting help, working collaboratively, learning from setbacks, and taking initiative. Learn more about clinical casework.
Activities Program
The Activities Program offers you the opportunity to take up the role of student rather than patient in a wide variety of creative and intellectual pursuits. Learn more about the Activities Program.
Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology
Psychodynamic psychopharmacology is our approach to pharmacotherapy that explicitly acknowledges the central role of meaning and interpersonal factors in promoting optimal treatment response to medications. Learn more about psychodynamic psychopharmacology.
Psychological Testing
Our psychological testing process is unique and thoroughly individualized. Using both personality and cognitive tests, our psychologists aim to describe your experiences, outline your characteristic ways of thinking and feeling, and understand the ways you try to manage what troubles you. During the first six weeks, you will take a number of tests, the results of which are included as part of the case conference that occurs near the end of the initial six-week evaluation and treatment period. Learn more about psychological testing.
Substance Use Services
Shortly after admission, certified substance use counselors provide an initial assessment and offer ongoing individual support. They help patients support each other by facilitating a weekly substance use group and by connecting interested patients to self-help groups in our local community. Learn more about Substance Use Services.
What Does a Typical Day Look Like During the Initial Evaluation and Treatment?
Our treatment is highly individualized and personalized to meet your specific needs, so no two treatments will look exactly the same. While there are meetings and sessions you will be expected to attend and participate in, you will also have the freedom and responsibility to help design a treatment path, along with your interdisciplinary treatment team, that works best for you. You can view a sample schedule of the first ten days of treatment here.
What Happens at the End of the Initial Evaluation and Treatment?
The initial six-week period culminates in a case conference. At this two-hour meeting, clinical staff gather to meet with you, hear about the work so far, review the initial assessments, and make recommendations consistent with your goals.
The clinical work presented at the case conference includes the following:
- Psychotherapy, including initial ideas about sources of difficulty in the context of your life story
- Comprehensive psychopharmacology assessment
- Intergenerational family history and initial family assessment
- Full physical examination, with referrals as needed for further medical care
- Assessments focusing on skills and needs related to social relationships, emotional self-management, nutrition, and substance use
- Psychological assessment
Some individuals have completed psychological testing in other settings prior to coming to Riggs. However, because of our particular expertise in this area, we include a new psychological assessment as part of the Initial Evaluation and Treatment phase for everyone.
What Happens After the Case Conference?
Throughout the first six weeks, our team works closely with you to clarify what’s been getting in your way, understand your emotional life more fully, and begin to imagine new possibilities for your future. After the case conference, we’ll work together to determine the next steps—whether that means returning to outpatient care or continuing your journey with us, which most patients do, in our full continuum of care.
How Much Does the Six-Week Initial Evaluation and Treatment Cost?
We are upfront and transparent about the cost of treatment. Please visit our Treatment Costs page for detailed information.
Admissions Process
If other treatments haven't worked, Riggs may be right for you. Unlike at other psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts or elsewhere, our relational, patient-driven behavioral treatment approach addresses underlying issues, not just symptoms.
Learn More About Admission