Online IOP for College Students and Emerging Adults in MA
Reflecting a major element of its treatment philosophy—the power of relationships—the Austen Riggs Center has appointed David Werbeck to serve as Riggs’ first-ever Director of Referral Relations. In this role, Dave works with clinical referrers, consultants, and prospective patients and their families to increase awareness of the type of long-term psychiatric care that the Center provides and to be a liaison in the admission process.
“Holding positions in admissions and referral relations since 2006, I have learned that seeking help can be stressful, confusing, and overwhelming,” Dave said. “My job is to ease that by working with patients and their caregivers to learn about the patient’s unique needs and provide a clear understanding of what Riggs does, so they can determine if our treatment will meet their needs or if something else might be a better fit.”
As the director of referral relations, Dave continues to build relationships with individual providers, group practices, therapeutic and educational consultants, hospitals, and peer organizations from across the country and beyond.
While most of his outreach is with professionals, Dave is also available to prospective patients and their family members. For both groups, he provides information regarding:
Who Riggs is for:
- Adults 18+
- People with complex psychiatric needs, frequently with multiple diagnoses
- People for whom other treatments have not worked
- People for whom outpatient treatment is not presently enough, but who don’t need the restrictions of an in-patient setting
- People who want to go beyond diagnostic labels, to get to the underlying problems and live a life that is not defined by mental illness
Unique aspects of Riggs’ treatment:
- A focus on psychodynamic psychotherapy—therapy that recognizes that symptoms, problems, and struggles have meaning and that learning about their meaning–especially meaning that is outside our awareness—allows patients to see their struggles in context and make better choices based on new learning about themselves.
- A voluntary, open setting, with no locked doors, privilege systems, or constant oversight by staff, and where restrictions are replaced by relationships and personal responsibility
- Four times a week individual psychotherapy with a doctoral-level therapist, combined with group options and activities
- Immersion in a therapeutic community of patients who share common experiences and challenges
- The ability for the patient to take charge of their treatment by helping design it and to join other patients and staff in the decision-making that shapes the Riggs community
Dave works closely with members of the Riggs admissions team and comes to us with nearly two decades of experience in admissions and referral relations roles. In working with some of the most respected programs across the country, he has been able to build a strong and diverse professional network which provides him with a unique ability to help families and providers navigate and access behavioral health care options.
To contact Dave directly please email: david.werbeck@austenriggs.net or call 615.476.5607.
To speak with members of the Admissions team, please call 800.517.4447 M-F, 8:30-5:00 (Eastern) or submit a web inquiry.
If you are a referring professional, whether you have referred to Riggs or not, we want to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to fill out this short, five-question survey. Your input and feedback will help us improve services to patients and referring professionals alike. Take the survey here.
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