She was 17, not speaking to her mother and living with her boyfriend, until MST
In 2016, I began working with Sarah*, a 17-year-old girl, and her mother, Ms. Jones. Sarah was on probation for a physical altercation with her older sister in 2013. The girl was referred to Multisystemic Therapy (MST) by her probation officer for other delinquent behaviors, including disobeying adults at home and in school, verbal and physical aggression toward family members, marijuana use and association with negative peers. Sarah had been in and out of juvenile hall for probation violations and twice served 30 days with an ankle monitor.
She lived with her biological mother, stepfather and two younger brothers. There were also two older sisters who lived out of the home. When I started working with the family, Sarah’s mother told me that she and her daughter had not spoken in almost a year. Sarah said she “hated” her family and had no intentions of ever having a relationship with them again. By the time I arrived, Sarah lived with her boyfriend’s family, only coming home to shower and get more clothes. She and her mom could be in the same room and act like the other didn’t even exist. They described their relationship as a “prison sentence,” which they only had to serve until the girl was 18 and moving out of the home.
After assessing each system surrounding the Jones family, I realized that I needed to focus first and foremost on finding a way to increase warmth in the home. However, in the beginning of treatment, mother and daughter didn’t buy
The mother reaches out
Ms. Jones worked with me to develop MST interventions to increase warmth, make Sarah feel welcome in her own home and show that for the first time in a year, she truly cared. Mother began texting Sarah daily to ask how her day was, even if her daughter didn’t respond. Ms. Jones visited Sarah at her job in the mall to check in on her. She made Sarah’s favorite meals and bought her favorite snacks. Ms. Jones initiated conversation when her daughter was in the home. When Sarah returned for a shower or fresh clothes, Ms. Jones would invite the girl out to lunch, go to the mall and took interest in her relationship with her boyfriend.
After about a month, Sarah saw that Ms. Jones was genuinely trying, genuinely cared and was being consistent. Sarah began eating dinners with the family, sleeping at home every night, texting Ms. Jones back, going on outings with her mother and opening up about her relationship with her boyfriend.
The family completed MST successfully. A month after discharge, Ms. Jones let me know that Sarah was successfully terminated from probation, close to graduating high school, working part time and was closer to her family than ever before.
Allison Altwer is an MST Therapist and Shields for Families in Los Angeles County, California.
To learn more about what makes MST an effective intervention for at-risk youth, download this white paper.
*Names have been changed to protect individual identities
