Renée Riggs, PsyD

Training: Dr. Renée Riggs earned her Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology at the California Professional School of Psychology at Alliant International University, San Diego. Dr. Riggs completed her pre-doctoral internship at Tiffany Griffiths PsyD & Associates in Old Forge Pennsylvania and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Genesee Valley Institute of Psychology specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and trauma.

Clinical Expertise: Dr. Riggs has had the opportunity to work with a variety of children, adolescents and adults with diverse backgrounds across a range of clinical settings (e.g. community mental health, residential substance use treatment facilities and school settings). Dr. Riggs has a generalist training with a particular focus in the treatment of trauma-related disorders and substance use disorders Her clinical training and experience includes evidence-based trauma treatments such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Written Exposure Therapy (WET), as well as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Dr. Riggs has specialized training and experience providing evidence-based treatment to individuals with a range of trauma presentations, including sexual traumas, intimate partner violence and childhood maltreatment. Additionally, Dr. Riggs has expertise in clients with neurodiverse presentations who struggle with learning, executive functioning, school and social challenges.

At GVP, Dr. Riggs provides Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Written Exposure Therapy (WET), CBT for anxiety and depression, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Diversity and inclusion: Dr. Riggs aims to provide a compassionate and culturally responsive environment for clients of all backgrounds and intersecting identities. Dr. Riggs approach is grounded in respect and humility and prioritizes providing a safe and empowering space for clients to share about their unique insights, strengths and challenges, the contexts and aspects of their identity that shape their mental health as well as how these may impact the therapeutic process.

Approach: Dr. Riggs believes in the power of connecting with clients to truly understand and honor their story. She aims to foster an empowering alliance through a trauma-informed, narrative approach to psychotherapy that is collaborative and self-directed. She is passionate about supporting clients in building a deepening understanding of themselves to work toward personally meaningful goals, processing traumatic experiences and moving away from self-defeating patterns.

Ages: Dr. Riggs treats adults, adolescents and children ages 10+