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

STOCKBRIDGE — 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, 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 multi-disciplinary team. Treatment focuses not only on reducing symptoms, but also on 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.

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