Austen Riggs Nursery School

I feel compelled to leave a review after all the heat Austen Riggs is getting. Austen Riggs changed my life. I was admitted in May of 2024, convinced I had nothing to live for and nobody who cared about me. I was suggested Riggs after being turned down from numerous hospitals and programs for having “too complex of a case.” Over the course of 8 months, I learned about myself and my impact on others in ways I had never before. My cohort of people who were admitted around the same time was very supportive, and we still keep in touch today, but I can definitely see how if the community isn’t a fit then Riggs won’t be a fit. Sure there was drama (some more serious than others), but you have to remember that you’re living in a large community of people with trauma and complicated mental health struggles. The only major downside is how expensive it is. I was extremely lucky that my insurance covered about 60% of my treatment, but I felt guilty the entire time I was there about how much my family was investing into me financially. The cost is widely talked about in group sessions and is commonly a major stressor for people, distracting from what brought them in in the first place. It’s now been almost a year since I left and my life is on a trajectory I never thought was possible. I am clean and sober, haven’t had a mental health crisis since leaving, and no longer fit a significant amount of diagnostic criteria for what I was diagnosed with. Making the commitment to treatment saved my life❤️

I was rock-bottom depressed to a point where my family and I were willing to try ANYTHING & spend any amount of money on my healing (Riggs is the most expensive place around). It wasn't the official therapy regiment I went there for as much as COMMUNITY - I was so isolated at that point. Upon arrival I was asked to pay for two weeks in advance (approx $14,000). My online bank didn't offer personal checkbook checks, so I agreed to file for a check to be sent to Riggs and did so. Thus began my residency. Trouble from the start: a room without AC in summertime, my schedule didn't include the standard group therapy (despite expressing VERY clearly that I was there precisely for the group interaction), and then a huge scandal unfolded involving a male resident drugging & sexually assaulting an unconscious female resident (and the ensuing attempts at institutional cover-up) - community meetings were overwhelmed by clients (many sexual abuse survivors) appalled that the guy wasn’t asked to leave by the tone-deaf old guard administration. But nothing prepared me for the following: I was assigned a therapist twice a week, and after 5 days, he began each session asking about the money I owed Riggs. I assured him my bank had sent the check, but as days wore on, he seemed to want to talk about little else but the money. I simply didn't understand why he kept asking because I 1) never had an issue sending checks from my bank 2) had full faith it'd eventually arrive 3) he was MY THERAPIST (!) not Finance office staff 4) was being painfully honest about my life & depression so it was simply inconceivable that he truly thought I was lying. He grew increasingly adversarial, putting all these absurd pop-psychology angles on it. Eventually I called my bank, confirmed the check was sent, and provided proof to the Finance Dept (the ONLY time I even discussed the situation w/ any staff besides this young highly unskilled therapist). Otherwise was feeling too disconnected/disempowered to address utter frustration/irritation with the situation. On the 10th day, I was scheduled for my first group meeting (w/ my 5 -person treatment team). I sat down prepared to discuss progress, but was abruptly told (by a man I never saw before) that I was terminated by Riggs for lack of payment. I was in complete and utter shock. Furthermore, this man proceeded - at length - to paint me as some sort of all-around pathological liar/deviant, using my very real reasons/pain for coming to Riggs to corroborate this sensational account and riot act. My team (decent people, with whom I'd been very direct/honest with all along) remained silent throughout - they either lacked curiosity or courage to challenge the hierarchy, or had drunk the Kool-Aid themselves. I left Riggs 6 hours later, utterly traumatized, in disbelief at this massive violation of trust, the ABSURDLY poor communication skills of these "professionals", the whole Kafkian debacle. My parents called the Finance Dept the next day and were told the check in fact arrived THAT MORNING (the one "positive" is that we canceled the check, otherwise Riggs would've snatched up $14,000). Yes, that mailed check took its sweet old time. But I’d provided INDISPUTABLE proof straight from my bank that it was sent. I still can't even imagine what they were thinking, baffles me how incredibly incompetent and irresponsible they were throughout every part of this entirely avoidable saga. Again: they had my newly assigned therapist repeatedly try to get me to confess that I lied about sending the check (?!?!?) during our 50 minute sessions! BONKERS! There are far better, more progressive options than this insular, exclusive, old-fashioned, bloated, money-grubbing institution. Charging $1000 a day to get your mental health in order is emblematic of a dis-eased culture that produces vast mental health issues. I saw nothing on offer at Riggs i didn't later discover via much more grassroots down-to-earth local and online support options.

There are some exceptional staff members here. It is important to understand that The Austen Riggs Center offers a program that can only be utilized in a time frame of 1 - 2 years. This was how it was originally structured. Unfortunately our health insurance system does not cater to this type of long term treatment. Please read the description of its program very carefully. I hope the current director can take a closer look at why this hospital is appropriate for those only able to stay 1 - 2 years.

Places of this kind are not easily quantifiable in 5 star ratings. But if I had to gove it a rating as simple as this, I give it 5. I was there for a year, and did out-patient for a couole of years after that. This place was a hard place to be because it was where Ibhad to confront myself -- but the tools they imparted to me and the care I received helped me save my life. I am indebted to them and believe im the work they do. Very much so. There are few open-setting hospitals around, and among mental hospitals Riggs is truly unique. It may not be for everyone, but I recommend it very very highly. I feel lucky to have been there. And I am certain that I would not be living a full, productive life now had it not been for them.

I left riggs a year ago, I never planned to leave a review but after seeing all the recently negative reviews I feel like I need to. Riggs helped me a tremendous amount! I went for 7 months and the work I did there has carried over ten fold. To anyone who is struggling with a 1. Personality disorder 2. has the means to stay at least 3-6 months 3. Is committed to getting better on a deep level There is no better place. Straight up. Please don’t be discouraged by the recent negative reviews and of course do your research.