MD from the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons

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

 (APA) - APA Board of Trustees member representing New England and Eastern Canada

Psychoanalytic Fellow and former Trustee of the 

American Academy of Psychodynamic Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis

 and member of its College of Research Fellows

Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Psychotherapy Committee

National Association for Behavioral Healthcare

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

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”

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

Leadership

Administrative Staff

Therapy Staff

Medical Director/CEO

Austen Riggs Center Medical Director/CEO Eric M. Plakun, MD, authored a column in the 

, "Psychodynamic Therapy: An Overview for Trainees and Their Teachers: Part 1–The Basics" that has been 

set to FREE access for the month of May, 2023.

"This first column in a series on psychodynamic therapy (PDT) offers an overview of the basics required to understand and master the provision of PDT. It offers a way of understanding what patients struggle with when viewed through a psychodynamic lens and then examines evidence-based core elements of psychotherapy and PDT."

Professional Publications

Riggs Medical Director/CEO Eric M. Plakun, MD, offers an overview of the basics required to understand and master the provision of psychodynamic therapy (PDT).

Psychodynamic Therapy: An Overview for Trainees and Their Teachers: Part 1–The Basics

© 2024 The Austen Riggs Center

Privacy Policy

Follow us: