Austen Riggs Center

12/18/2025

"A strong therapeutic alliance—built on trust and collaboration—is one of the most reliable predictors of positive outcomes in schizophrenia," says Associate Director of Admissions/Director of Psychological Testing Jeremy Ridenour, PsyD, ABPP, in this article.

In addition to medications, talk therapy can be an important treatment tool for managing symptoms of schizophrenia.

12/17/2025

The play begins tonight - https://www.austenriggs.org/events/riggs-theatre-37-presents-moliere-s-the-learned-ladies.

In the theater program, patients work with community actors, including professional actors from Shakespeare & Company. As patient actors learn their lines and come to inhabit the roles they take up, they have the opportunity to explore a wide range of human emotions and complex interpersonal relationships. Hear Kevin Coleman say more about the theater program in this video.

12/16/2025

Check out this new enduring course with Cathleen Morey, PhD, LICSW. Education.AustenRiggs.org/CathleenMorey.

12/16/2025

Join the Austen Riggs Nursery School for an open house on January 10, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

12/16/2025

is ranked one of the top 10 most Magical Christmas Towns in America. The Red Lion Inn Norman Rockwell Museum Naumkeag

https://bostonuncovered.com/stockbridge-massachusetts/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAOt8H9jbGNrA63weGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkUdeaB79w0qjnia9hDIm8atsjUu5tPk2Dn8heIaW1jnRUeQfF3o_fyAVne4_aem_JOLVppWhdvp5Mw0El5monw

12/15/2025

“In this interview, Dr. Prinstein points to the important connections between rising mental health concerns in youth that are related to experiences of social disconnection (including loneliness and social anxiety) and increased reliance on technology, including generative AI resources that often seem to mimic real human interactions. The underlying challenge with these developments, which Dr. Prinstein points out so clearly, is that essential human capacities for managing novelty, nuance, and the unknown – skills that are absolutely essential for navigating a complex and sometimes imperfect world – are under-developed, and contribute to difficulty in learning to rely on the self or to turn to connections with others as a tool for survival and growth. The importance of bolstering the ability to develop both a sense of agency and to recognize the incredible value of our social relationships for promoting overall wellness and stability serves as the bedrock of our treatment model at Riggs, centralized in our residential therapeutic community program but echoed through our clinical treatment program and scholarly and empirical pursuits within the EI.” ~Austen Riggs Director of Research Katie Lewis, PhD

12/11/2025

"This article highlights that reaching out for support is a deeply adaptive impulse, even among young people whose behavior may appear violent or alarming on the surface. When adolescents turn to AI chatbots, it reflects a wish for connection and emotional containment in the midst of their distress. Our responsibility is to make sure that when young people do reach out, they find care that is safe, accountable, and rooted in real human relationships. This is the gap programs like our Online IOP aim to close." ~ Associate Director of the Online Intensive Outpatient Program Seth Pitman, PhD

Experts warn of dangers as England and Wales study shows 13- to 17-year-olds consulting AI amid long waiting lists for services

12/11/2025

A lot is happening in Stockbridge, and our patients have access to all of this in our open treatment setting. You can learn more about the open setting by clicking on the link in the comments.

Let the Holidays Continue in and around . We have Winterlights at Naumkeag, A Christmas Carol at the Unicorn Theatre, TLI Jazz and BSO Holiday Brass at Tanglewood, Home for the Holidays at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Joyful Holidays at the Red Lion Inn, Nightwoods at the Mount, Holiday Houses at Chesterwood and Ventfort Hall and so much more all around our area. Visit www.stockbridgechamber.org and click on "Holiday Activities In and Around ". Don't forget to do your shopping too!

12/10/2025

In this first-person piece, filmmaker Michele Beck draws on segments from her documentary film Learning to Speak, and talks with Austen Riggs Medical Director/CEO Ed Shapiro, MD, about the experiences leading up to and during the making of the film which she describes not as a story of overcoming, but of becoming—an exploration of how one makes meaning from the fragments of a life.

12/08/2025

Riggs Theatre 37's winter production of Molière's The Learned Ladies, a comedy about the vicissitudes of love, runs December 17-21.

Riggs Theatre 37's winter production runs December 17-21.

12/04/2025

Good news - Riggs online IOP expands treatment offerings to Vermont and earns Joint Commission accreditation.

Riggs online IOP expands treatment offerings to Vermont and earns Joint Commission accreditation.

12/03/2025

Congratulations to this year's winners! This distinguished annual award celebrates and supports exceptional psychiatric residents who have demonstrated notable interest and aptitude in psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychiatry. It also honors those who show strong potential as researchers in biopsychosocial approaches to psychiatric practice, including psychotherapy.

Ten residents from psychiatry training programs across the country were recently recognized.