Eric M. Plakun, MD, DLFAPA, FACPsych

Medical Director/CEO

Eric M. Plakun, MD, DLFAPA, FACPsych

Medical Director/CEO

Education

BA from Hofstra University
MD from the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons
Psychiatry residency at Dartmouth
Fellowship in psychoanalytic studies at the Austen Riggs Center

As the medical director/CEO of Riggs, which is a non-profit, Eric Plakun, MD, reports to a dedicated Board of Trustees. He is responsible for all areas of the institution from the provision of patient care to the operational mechanics and strategic planning. He has a particular interest in mental health advocacy, full implementation of the mental health parity law, access-to-care issues, and reducing health disparities.

Dr. Plakun was the director of admissions for 35 years and has dedicated nearly his entire professional career to Riggs (more than 40 years) and its unique way of looking at and treating mental disorders. Other roles have included treatment team leader, psychotherapy supervisor, and co-principal investigator of a prospective, longitudinal study of treatment outcome.

Dr. Plakun has long been active in the American Psychiatric Association as a voice advancing the importance of psychotherapy as part of the identity and skills of psychiatrists, and as a member of the Assembly Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. He served as Plaintiffs’ expert on adult mental disorders in the landmark Wit v. United Behavioral Health federal class-action. The strong plaintiffs’ verdict was hailed as a “game-changer” in the implementation of the mental health parity law by Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

Professional Affiliations/Organizational Memberships

American Psychiatric Association (APA) - APA Board of Trustees member representing New England and Eastern Canada
Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists
Psychoanalytic Fellow and former Trustee of the American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis
Honorary member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and member of its College of Research Fellows
Member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Psychotherapy Committee
Member of the National Association for Behavioral Healthcare Managed Care Committee
Advisor to the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN)

Certifications/Appointments

Board-certified psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, and forensic psychiatrist

Awards/Recognitions

Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
2003 Massachusetts Psychiatric Society “Outstanding Psychiatrist in Clinical Psychiatry”
2017 Honored by American Psychoanalytic Association for “Championing psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy treatment within American psychiatry and paving the way towards a return to a more individualized treatment model”

Research Interests

Diagnosis, treatment, longitudinal course, and outcome of patients with borderline personality disorder and treatment-resistant disorders