Sometimes the key to engaging a family is knowing where they come from

Fifteen-year-old Aaron (not his real name) was referred to Multisystemic System (MST) due to physical and verbal aggression at home, starting fires and substance abuse. His mum was a single parent who had immigrated to the U.K. when civil war broke out in their home country. It was just the two of them. She had left behind two, now adult, children whom she had when she was only 12 and 13 years old. They were raised by others in her family. Mum had significant mental-health problems, including a diagnosis of schizophrenia and PTSD following trauma in her home country. Her Christian faith was very important to her.

The MST treatment did not start auspiciously.

An award-winning poet helps a family use art to express their experience with MST 

Albert Mills and his twin brother, Nnamdi Chukwuocha, pictured below, were named the 2016 Poets Laureate of Delaware. They’ve been writing poetry and using art to express themselves since they were 7.

As an MST therapist for the last four-and-a-half years with Psychotherapeutic Children’s Services in Dover and Wilmington, Del., Albert has a lot of experience helping youth and families involved with the criminal-justice system. He is known for speaking publically in his community using poetry to talk about community issues, such as gun violence, poverty and the justice system. For Al, poetry changed his life. But to him, it isn’t just a poem. "You're not just writing a poem or an apology letter. You're writing your words. You're telling your story. What is your story?"

What follows is the story of one MST family who chose to use poetry to express the difference it made in their lives.

The C-Rep Behavioral Health Agency makes a difference in Fayetteville, North Carolina

"When we identify our youth by what they do, and label them 'youth offenders,' instead of who they are, we limit them and ourselves to all the possibilities of what they can become. Even if those very young people have made choices to go down the wrong path, don’t they deserve someone to invest in their lives and in their future?" —Tony Haire, PhD.

This story could have turned out a lot differently. It could have ended with Tony Haire in jail. But it didn’t.

There is a question that occasionally keeps me up at night

Sometimes, when I can’t fall asleep, I think about what it means to be an effective model purveyor of Multisystemic Therapy (MST). I understand that, on the surface, it’s about oversight and fidelity to this evidence-based model that we provide to youth and families. But I want to dig deeper into this idea. What does it take to not just be an effective model purveyor, but an exceptional one? What does it take to create an environment in which an evidence-based model like ours can grow?

Network Partner Conference offers chance to step back and see how far MST has come, and how far we have yet to go

A picture of a long and winding road. It resonated with attendees at the opening of the 2016 MST Network Partnership Conference when executive vice president and clinical director of MST Services, Lisa Reiter, showed one. Many participants sitting in the audience, myself included, have been a part of that long and winding journey that took Multisystemic Therapy from a university-based research treatment model into the real world.

MST outcomes data remains strong in 2015

With 2016 drawing to a close, the Multisystemic Therapy (MST) 2015 outcome data is in. And the numbers look good. 

As a top tier program that works to keep at-risk juveniles out of trouble, at home and in school, achieving our goals is bigger than just our organization. Meeting our goals means helping children and families across the world live healthier, more productive lives.

Using Social Impact Bonds to fund evidence-based programs

Evidence-based programs (EBPs) that help troubled youth are usually funded through the government and philanthropy. But to increase the reach and impact of these practices, the funding base must be expanded.

Powerful video testimony of an MST mother

If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then a video is worth a million. At least, this video is. A strong and courageous mom shared her journey with Multisystemic Therapy (MST) at the Blueprints Conference in Colorado.

If you want a successful EBP, don’t improvise

Congratulations. You have made the choice to implement evidence-based programs (EBP) in your community. It’s a wise and fiscally responsible choice since only EBPs deliver proven and predictable outcomes.

But here’s the rub: To get these results, it’s critical to implement the program with fidelity. Too often, “fidelity” might be seen an overrated and undervalued expense. Sure, sticking to rules and guidelines developed somewhere far away, typically in some university petri dish, is hard. 

Finding their way back: How MST helped one Canadian family reconnect

In the months following a difficult divorce, Bonnie felt she was losing her footing as a parent. With two teenaged girls and a host of new responsibilities as a single mom, Bonnie struggled as she navigated unfamiliar terrain. She thought her life was turning upside down, and her youngest daughter, Anna, was struggling most of all. At 13, Anna was starting her first year of high school and was forging a new identity with new friends. This identity was not positive. Her experimentation with drugs and alcohol developed into a pattern of daily use, and she was absent from school frequently. Anna was also increasingly adversarial and defiant at home. She flagrantly disregarded rules, had angry outbursts and stole from her mom and sister. All the while, Anna grew more and more distant from her mother. Bonnie feared for her daughter’s future and turned to Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for help.