Here's why a supervisor fell in love with the MST model

Remy Schonhaut wasn’t looking to join an MST program. Instead, it found her. And she’s more than glad it did. 

She was working in a residential program when she saw an opening for a supervisor at a prevention program based Multisystemic Therapy (MST) called MST-CAN. “I quickly fell in love with the MST model and its unique approach of keeping children in their home with their families,” Remy said. 

Remy, middle, with her mother (left) and Scott Henggeler (right) at the International Conference 2016

One mom's testimony about MST-CAN moves a minister to support the program

I first heard about MST for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) when Cindy Swenson talked at a national conference arranged by the Norwegian Centre for Child Behavioral Development (NUBU) in 2013. After several years of working as an MST standard therapist and clinical supervisor, I hoped this MST adaptation would come to Norway. When Bærum municipality decided to adopt MST-CAN in 2016, I knew that it was going to be a good change for me—the opportunity to work with the same program I knew and loved, but with a few new challenges thrown in. And most importantly, with a population I deeply care for and for which I wanted to make a difference.

Three parents can sometimes be better than one

Jane was a 13-year-old middle-schooler who lived with her grandparents, having little to no contact with her biological parents. By the time she came into MST, she was using drugs, getting in trouble, failing in school, leaving home without permission, and being defiant and aggressive with her grandparents. 

MST-CAN and MST-BSF are helping families with exceptionally complex and difficult problems

"More and more we have recognized the complexity of the context—cultural, social and individual—in which child maltreatment occurs¹." There is no one factor that causes child abuse and neglect, and there are no simple solutions to fixing the problem. That is especially true when it comes to families who come under the guidance of Child Protective Services due to a report of abuse or neglect. The safety of the children and family is at risk and the parents may be challenged with difficulties such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.), low social support or social isolation, domestic violence, marital dissatisfaction, poor knowledge of child development and/or low community resources.

Interventions need to be tailored to meet the unique circumstances that each family is experiencing. Two Multisystemic Therapy (MST) offshoots accomplish that for such families.

 Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

Nov. 20 is Universal Children’s Day, established by the United Nations more than 60 years ago. Its goal is to improve the welfare of kids across the globe. They are, after all, of utmost importance to the future of the world. As pointed out in a report to the U.N. secretary-general in 2001, "We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind."

Many people and cultures throughout the world condone using corporal punishment to discipline children. This flies in the face of the principles of the U.N. and its Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children are not commodities. They are not punching bags. Swatting, spanking, hitting your kid is a form of physical abuse that research has shown does not necessarily achieve the desired results. On the contrary, it is deleterious.

MST therapist works with all systems surrounding child to keep him at home, in school and out of trouble.

Andrew was living with his grandmother and had lost touch with his absent parents. He fought verbally and physically with his older sister, and his grandmother did not know how to intervene. She was seeking placement for him outside the home in order to get him help for his behaviors. At school, Andrew was disruptive in classes, fought with peers, and threatened teachers, resulting in the school taking steps toward a long-term suspension from school. He was on a diversion contact with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and the Court Counselor (CC) was planning to take Andrew to court to increase the level of supervision because of his aggressive behaviors. In other words, Andrew was on the brink of being placed outside the home, and things needed to change quickly. 

The top 6 Reasons MST eschews out-of-home placement  

Juvenile crime is, unfortunately, a common topic in today’s news and leaves parents, police and communities struggling in their search for answers. Also unfortunate is the call by some people for “more of the same”—incarceration, residential facilities, or other cocktails of the commonly used approaches that have failed to curb the problem.

Our juvenile justice system is like a bicycle stuck in one gear, and that gear is incarceration. But it just doesn't make good sense to keep building prisons and sticking youth in them for non-violent offenses. The body of evidence on successfully rehabilitating juvenile offenders emphasizes keeping adolescents with their families and in their schools. Worse still, locking kids up doesn’t make our communities safer.