Austen Fox Riggs (December 12, 1876 – March 5, 1940) was an American psychiatrist and pioneering researcher in

stress response The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-or-freeze response (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. It was first des ...

. In 1913, he founded the

Austen Riggs Center The Austen Riggs Center is a psychiatric treatment facility in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Austen Fox Riggs in 1913 as the Stockbridge Institute for the Study and Treatment of Psychoneuroses before being renamed in honor of Au ...

, a psychiatric treatment facility in Stockbridge,

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Biography

Austen Fox Riggs was born on December 12, 1876, in Kassel,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, to American parents, Benjamin C. Riggs and Rebecca (Fox) Riggs. He attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in 1898. He then attended the

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded ...

to receive his M.D. in 1902. He completed further post-graduate work at

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

in 1904. In 1907, Riggs was recovering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

at his Stockbridge, Massachusetts, home when he began furthering his understanding of psychiatry and psychology. In 1913, he established the Stockbridge Institute for the Study and Treatment of Psychoneuroses, a mental health facility for voluntary admittance patients. In 1919, it was renamed to the Austen Riggs Foundation, and today is known as the

. Riggs served as its president and medical director until his death in 1940 due to illness.

Publications

* ''Talks to patients, I–III'' (1916) * ''Just Nerves'' (1922) – with introduction by

Henry Van Dyke Henry Jackson van Dyke Jr. (November 10, 1852 – April 10, 1933) was an American author, educator, diplomat, and Presbyterian clergyman. Early life Van Dyke was born on November 10, 1852, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry ...

* ''Intelligent Living'' (1929) * ''Play: Recreation in a Balanced Life'' (1935)

Personal life

In April 1904, Riggs married Alice McBurney Riggs, and they had three daughters and a son together. She died in 1970.

References

External links

*
History of the Austen Riggs Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Austen Fox 1876 births 1940 deaths American psychiatrists Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Harvard College alumni Austen Riggs Center physicians American expatriates in the German Empire