Patients presenting with persisting somatic symptoms or functional somatic symptoms constitute a very large subset of patients seen in routine healthcare. For instance, around 40% of patients with depression and anxiety also report high levels of functional somatic symptoms and long-term health conditions. Recent theoretical and empirical advances open up important new avenues for the treatment of these patients. In this talk, Dr. Luyton will summarize findings concerning the role of three related biobehavioral systems that play a central role in the development of these symptoms from a psychodynamic perspective (i.e., the attachment system, the mentalizing system, and impairments in epistemic trust), with a focus on the importance of fostering embodied mentalizing. He will also review empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy with these patients. Finally, he will outline the treatment principles of dynamic interpersonal therapy, an integrative psychodynamic treatment that has been adapted for patients with functional somatic symptoms with varying levels of severity, based on a description of the treatment of a patient with chronic widespread pain. Dr. Luyton will argue that labeling these patients as 'hard-to-reach' of ‘difficult-to-treat’ reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of their embodied mind.

Educational Events

Patients with Persistent Somatic Symptoms or Functional Somatic Symptoms: An Integrative Psychodynamic Treatment Approach

Dr. Luyton explores the psychodynamic approach to treating patients with functional somatic symptoms, emphasizing the roles of attachment, mentalizing, and epistemic trust. 

2024-25 Friday Night Guest Lecture Series

What does it mean to be both a social critic and a practicing psychotherapist? In view of the social and political crises we face, this is surely one of our profession’s most pressing challenges. This talk will draw on the early work of Erich Fromm, one of the twentieth century’s best known public intellectuals and least understood psychoanalysts. Fromm escaped Nazi Germany and was one of very few psychoanalysts to speak publicly about the dangers of fascism. As Director of Social Psychology and Psychoanalysis at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, he developed a view of the human psyche as fundamentally social and political in nature. Shortly before the United States declared war on Nazi Germany, Fromm published Escape From Freedom, which sought to explain why so many Germans enthusiastically supported Hitler. What has remained virtually unknown is that when Fromm’s was openly arguing against fascism, he was simultaneously engaged in a campaign to save family members and colleagues who remained behind in Nazi Germany. Drawing on unpublished Holocaust correspondence, this talk will show how the traumas and tragedies in Fromm’s family shaped his public stance against racism and destructiveness. For Fromm, the personal was always political, and time was short. In an era when psychoanalysts sought to keep the individual psyche strictly separate from social and political concerns, Fromm was ostracized for his progressive stance. Given the growth of fascism today, what can we learn from Fromm’s sense of urgency? How might Fromm’s ethical stance apply to our current situation and to our work as practitioners?

Dr. Roger Frie presents the January 2025 Erikson Institute Friday Night Guest Lecture.

Dr. Roger Frie

Edge of Catastrophe: Erich Fromm’s Fight Against Fascism and Racism

Dr. Roger Frie asks: What does it mean to be both a social critic and a practicing psychotherapist? In this talk he draws on the early work of Erich Fromm to answer this and other questions. 

Presented by the Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center and the Yale Child Study Center

The 2025 Riggs-Yale virtual conference will focus on substance use and behavioral addiction in children and adolescents, examining the role of parental substance use, changing cultural norms, and efforts to find a community and belonging through substance use and/or technology. Conference participants will learn about the complex interaction between biology, psychology, family systems, and social context in the development and progression of addictive processes. Early prevention and intervention strategies for children and adolescents vulnerable to substance use or behavioral addiction will be discussed.

Jane Tillman, PhD, ABPP - Austen Riggs Center Evelyn Stefansson Nef Director of the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy

Linda Mayes, PhD - Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology in the Yale Child Study Center

Nancy Close, PhD, Associate Director of the Yale Program on Early Childhood Education

Daniel Knauss, PsyD, ABPP, Director of Training/Staff Psychologist/Grand Rounds Coordinator

Conferences

Parenting and Partnerships: Substance Use and Behavioral Addiction in Childhood and Adolescence

The 2025 Riggs-Yale virtual conference will focus on substance use and behavioral addiction in children and adolescents, examining the role of parental substance use, changing cultural norms, and efforts to find a community and belonging through substance use and/or technology.

, serves as a panelist, alongside Joe Feldman, MBA, and Brian Hufford, Esq, in this virtual event moderated by Bevin Campbell, PsyD.

"The purpose of this panel is to empower clinicians with the knowledge and resources needed to support patients in obtaining appropriate reimbursement for treatment. Drawing on their diverse professional backgrounds, panelists will identify common barriers to care, demystify the systemic factors underlying these barriers, and provide practical resources – tools, templates, step-by-step instructions – to address them."

Empowering Clinicians: Practical Tools to Support Mental Health Treatment 

Dr. Kate Gallagher serves as a panelist on the first in a series of virtual events co-sponsored by PsiAN and the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology.

Hosted by the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy of the Austen Riggs Center

Peer support serves a vital role in the mental health of college students. Beyond buttressing clinical services and expanding resources to meet unprecedented demand, it can mobilize students’ strengths and foster experiences of community and belonging. However, it also brings challenges, including training, liability, and coordination with counseling and wellness centers. In this conference, we will use presentations on an innovative peer assistance program and small and large group discussions to explore how participants might enhance peer support offerings on their campuses.

 for college students and emerging adults in Massachusetts

New York State licensed psychologist and director of the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research at the University at Albany, SUNY

assistant director for Peer Services and a licensed psychologist at University at Albany (UAlbany) Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

This conference is for college mental health clinicians and those supporting students’ mental health otherwise. Trainees are encouraged to attend.

20th Annual Austen Riggs College Counseling Conference: Peer Support, Community, and Belonging

A virtual conference for college mental health clinicians and those supporting students’ mental health. 

In this presentation Dr. Mucci will present the three levels of interpersonal traumatizations with all the consequences at the level of attachment styles, interpersonal neurobiology, and affect regulation and personability dynamics up to the point of developing complex PTSD and personality disorders.

A first distinction will be made between trauma deriving from early deprivation, maltreatment, abuse and trauma due to natural catastrophes. Only the first kind of traumatization deriving from interpersonal trauma and abuse create the dissociative structure which is at the roots of the most severe psychopathology, namely severe personality disorders with severe difficulties in affect regulation, in dynamics of attachment and in mind-body and brain integration. From this structure the most severe psychopathology derives, with possible suicidality, self-harming, eating disorders and severe addictions.

Dr. Clara Mucci will present the April 2025 Erikson Institute Friday Night Guest Lecture.

Dr. Clara Mucci

Interpersonal Trauma and the Developmental Roots of Personality Disorders

Dr. Clara Mucci presents the three levels of interpersonal traumatizations with all the consequences at the level of attachment styles, interpersonal neurobiology, and affect regulation and personability dynamics up to the point of developing complex PTSD and personality disorders.

This presentation will address the recent shift towards was has been termed an “ontological” approach to psychoanalysis (Ogden 2019), in which experiencing and becoming oneself more fully are seen as the goals of treatment, with the generation of knowledge taking a back seat. Through a close reading of Bion and Winnicott it will argue against the dichotomization of knowing and being that is often implicit in this framework. Rather than privileging one over the other, it will propose that both Bion and Winnicott view knowing is inextricably bound up with being, given the object psychoanalysis is attempting to know and to reach. This has consequences for how we work, and helps protect against the idealization of experiencing and other trends than can arise within the “ontological” analysis literature. A case example will be used to illustrate.

The Place From Which We Know: a Response to the “Ontological” Turn in Psychoanalysis

Dr. Hannah Wallerstein address the recent shift towards was has been termed an “ontological” approach to psychoanalysis (Ogden 2019), in which experiencing and becoming oneself more fully are seen as the goals of treatment, with the generation of knowledge taking a back seat.

Gould Farm & Ellenhorn roundtable retreat main image

Hosted by Ellenhorn & Gould Farm | With presentations from Ellenhorn, Gould Farm, The Austen Riggs Center, and Windhorse Integrative Mental Health

Join us for an enriching retreat focused on humanistic approaches to psychosis care, bringing together leaders in clinical treatment, advocates, and individuals with lived experience. Building on the momentum from last year's retreat, this gathering will offer a collaborative, intimate setting to explore innovative, person-centered approaches to psychosis treatment within both residential and community environments.​

This retreat is dedicated to professionals, clinicians, and advocates passionate about supporting recovery through approaches that go beyond symptom management, helping individuals discover purpose, identity, and connection. Through small-group discussions, presentations, and community-building activities, participants will engage in thought-provoking conversations about best practices in psychosis care, the impact of community-based treatment models, and how to navigate fragmented systems of care in the U.S.​

Set against the backdrop of the Berkshire Mountains, Gould Farm offers a unique, restorative setting for our discussions, having served as a sanctuary for healing since its founding in 1913. We invite you to connect with peers and leaders in the field, share insights, and contribute to shaping the future of psychosis care.​

If you have any questions about this event, please reach out to Ellenhorn's Director of Brand & Identity Development, Gabe Dunn at 

Special Events

Psychosis Care and Connection:  A Retreat on Humanistic Approaches

A roundtable retreat hosted by Ellenhorn & Gould Farm with presentations from Ellenhorn, Gould Farm, the Austen Riggs Center, and Windhorse Integrative Mental Health.

Explore a wide range of psychotherapy conferences, lectures, workshops, and educational events with Riggs clinicians, as well as online CE/CME courses. 

Therapy Conferences & Educational Events | Austen Riggs Center

For answers to any questions about events, conferences, or CME courses, please feel free to contact us.

In addition to wide ranges of published articles, interviews, and other materials featuring the work of Riggs clinicians, our Resource Center houses video excerpts and select full presentations from past academic conferences and educational events.

An important part of the Erikson Institute's educational mission is providing online continuing education and continuing medical education courses with an emphasis on psychodynamic psychotherapy. Certificates and CE/CME credits are availabile for those with an MD, PhD, or PsyD, and for social workers.

Events

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Educational Events

20th Annual Austen Riggs College Counseling Conference: Peer Support, Community, and Belonging

Past Presentations

CE/CME Courses

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For answers to any questions about events, conferences, or CME courses, please feel free to contact us.

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