Austen Riggs Opens Search for Medical or Clinical Director/CEO

Established in 1919 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the Austen Riggs Center is internationally recognized as a leading continuum of care that promotes personal resilience and self-direction in adults with complex psychiatric problems. Our treatment is built around an open setting and therapeutic community that emphasizes the importance of relationships, the voice and authority of patients, and intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Over its 106-year history, Riggs has developed a psychoanalytic and systems psychodynamic approach for patients who have been unable to effectively use other treatments. The most recent addition to our services, the Online Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), was created in response to the growing need for quality, affordable access to care which serves college students and emerging adults. We also have a deep history in clinical education, research and accessibility including Fellowships and high-quality training opportunities through our Erikson Institute.

The mission of the organization is to promote resilience and self-direction in those with complex psychiatric problems—to help people take charge of their lives. Our work is grounded in the conviction that an individual’s problems are inherently meaningful, that such problems are best understood in a social context, and that treatment leads to a more fulfilling life when the sources of suffering are addressed. 

The Austen Riggs Center seeks a Medical or Clinical Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the organization. 

This is a unique opportunity for a psychoanalytically oriented psychiatrist or psychologist, trained in the Riggs approach or its equivalent, to have a positive impact, not only on one of the nation’s oldest, most well-established, and well-respected treatment centers, but also on the entire field of psychology and psychiatry.

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the Medical or Clinical Director/CEO will be responsible for the general management and oversight of both clinical and non-clinical affairs of the Center. The Medical or Clinical Director/CEO will guide a process (inclusive of Trustees, staff, and patients) that results in a comprehensive strategic plan for Riggs. This plan will address an increase in the visibility and impact of Riggs, communication of the efficacy of the Riggs approach, and the strengthening of strategic alliances with multiple constituencies. It will also address the need to strengthen the current infrastructure of the organization through cultural and technological advancement.

We seek strong leadership from an individual whose integrity, intelligence, and clear thinking will maintain the long tradition of clinical excellence at the Center while expanding its referral base, partnerships, national recognition, and educational and research contributions to the fields of psychology and psychiatry. The ideal candidate will be a good communicator, both internally and with the external world, whose decisive and confident leadership is balanced with the compassion and sense of humor necessary for open, collaborative engagement with the community at the Center.

The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees named a national firm to assist in the recruitment of the Medical or Clinical Director/CEO. Applications, nominations, and inquiries should be directed in confidence to the firm as indicated at the end of this document.

The current climate of biological and evidence-based treatments for psychiatric disorders in a managed care system provides both challenges and opportunities for the Austen Riggs Center. While we continue to be well respected in the field and our Fellowship training program is almost universally viewed as second to none, we operate in a context of increased competition, biological reductionism, symptom and crisis management, and preference for “evidence-based” treatment. In many ways the Center is at a crossroads with how it engages with the world beyond its campus in Stockbridge. We have an important opportunity to be more vocal advocates for the efficacy of psychoanalytic treatment and systems psychodynamic understanding. The Medical or Clinical Director/CEO will be charged with developing strategies to achieve these goals while maintaining the Riggs tradition of clinical excellence.

The Medical or Clinical Director will be the CEO of the Corporation, the Austen Riggs Center, and Manager of the IOP. Subject to the direction and control of the Board of Trustees, the Medical or Clinical Director/CEO will have general management and oversight of all clinical and non-clinical affairs.

The senior leadership team reports to the Medical or Clinical Director/CEO. It is comprised of the Medical or Clinical Director/CEO plus 9 other members: Associate Medical Director/Director of Admissions, Director of Patient Care, Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer, Director of the IOP, Director of the Therapeutic Community Program, Director of the Erikson Institute, Director of Human Resources, and Director of Communications.

The Austen Riggs Center seeks candidates for this position who are prepared to move to Stockbridge, Massachusetts upon assuming the position and live in a home provided by the Center near its campus; who will make a minimum five-year commitment to the leadership of the institution; and who bring the following skills and experience:

All inquiries, nominations, and applications, including a resume and cover letter, should be submitted in confidence via Application for Medical or Clinical Director/CEO

Jaynanne Calaway-Habeck, President
Zack Funk, Senior Consultant
Calaway Habeck Talent Consulting
https://chtalentconsulting.com/

Review of candidates will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. To ensure full consideration, materials should be submitted by May 1, 2025. Ideally candidates should be prepared to assume the position between July 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. Start date can be negotiated but will be no later than July 1, 2026.

For more information about the Austen Riggs Center,
please visit our website: www.austenriggs.org.

The Austen Riggs Center is an equal opportunity employer.