A difficult case with few good options

He and his family were on my caseload. He was on my mind. He had previously been a “looked-after child” [in foster care] and was now at risk for becoming one again. The boy was displaying several behavioral problems—increasingly becoming involved in gangs and drugs. He had been stabbed, and his whole family was concerned about his safety and well-being. His stepfather was isolating him from other family members, and the parents were constantly arguing.

As a qualified social worker in the U.K., I was looking for a program that would help this young person remain in his home and be safe in his community. Something that would give him and his family the tools and resources they needed to independently address any further difficulties that arose. I knew it had to be something intensive. This I found was achievable through the support and the model of MST. I referred this case to the MST program with the hopes that the clinician would support the family, enabling them to develop skills to challenge and support their son, breaking the cycle of anti-social behaviors.

Communities may change, but MST does not

Inevitably, someone where I work will ask me a question along the lines of “So, how do we compare to other places that do Multisystemic Therapy?” A difficult question to answer, but my response is always, “It’s the same . . . but different.” It’s about as true an answer as I can possibly give.

A conference on evidence-based programs

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate." —Joseph Priestley

Emails are great. Phone calls good. Face-to-face communication, best.

The back-and-forth, give-and take exchanges of ideas and experiences lead to new insights, expanded knowledge, immediate clarifications and solidification of personal connections.  

This makes the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development Conference in April 2016 such an important event for those working to improve the well-being of children. 

The MST model continues to show impressive outcomes

The numbers are in, and they are good for Multisystemic Therapy (MST), an intensive family- and community-based treatment that addresses the many causes of serious antisocial behavior in juveniles. At a recent conference for MST Network Partners, outcomes from across the MST world were shared. These statistics represent the work of teams in 34 states and 15 countries. With strong adherence to the MST model, practitioners across the world achieved great success with the families they served in 2014.

Chile Chooses MST to Help With At-Risk Youth

Mention Chile and the magnificent scenery of the majestic Andes, the plains of Patagonia, its wonderful wines and diverse cuisine spring to mind. One should also remember, this South American country returned to democracy at the end of the 1980s. Since then, the government has been intent on advancing programs to help its citizens. 

Sometimes a stranger can bring great meaning to your life

If you’re a parent whose child is referred to Multisystemic Therapy, chances are you are wondering about the stranger being sent to your home. Thoughts running through your brain might include, who is this person, what is his or her clinical experience? Are they skilled enough to help with my child? Will this therapist judge or blame me? What makes this therapist and this program different from the other programs we’ve tried?

Multisystemic Therapy takes more than a Coke and a smile

I remember when I was an MST supervisor, one of my therapists came into my office and said that he had finally figured it out—“Engagement in MST isn’t a Coke and a smile!” It wasn’t about having families invite him into their homes, greeting him with a smile on their faces, offering him a seat at their kitchen table and a Coke to drink. Engagement was something much more. After working in MST for several months, he had really started to understand that engagement and alignment meant a whole lot more and was critical to long-lasting success.

10-year MST veteran shares thoughts on what makes the evidence-based model work

Marta Lear has been a Multisystemic Therapy (MST) supervisor for 10 years. In that time, she witnessed up close the elements that contribute to MST being such a powerful tool in helping chronic juvenile offenders get on the right track to becoming successful, productive adults.

One extremely important factor Lear found was the high level of support and guidance provided to therapists and supervisors by MST, which included the quality of booster trainings. In other programs, she says, therapists may get adequate training and even follow-up booster sessions. However, they often lack a focus on the sustainability of the program, as well as fidelity to the model. MST requires both.

MST: Backed Up by Research, Results Proven to Be Reproducible

An article in Science magazine stated that less than a third of psychology studies could be replicated. 

This finding produced a bit of negative coverage in the media, as well as some useful analysis.     

For me, however, it was a reminder of just how impressive the body of research behind MST is. Consider that since 1986, MST has undergone 15 separate randomized controlled trials using either juvenile offenders or youth with serious conduct problems. Of those, seven were conducted by independent researchers in five separate countries.

New Mexico finds MST cost-effective, saves the state $135 million

In December 2014, a report was published showing very positive results for troubled youth receiving Multisystemic Therapy (MST) treatment over a nine-year period in New Mexico. The state decided to take a closer look at the data from its Juvenile Justice Services System (JJS) focusing on whether using MST for delinquent youths at risk of out-of-home placements was paying off.

The study analyzed information gathered on 4,016 delinquent young people receiving MST from July 2005 to June 30, 2014, covering admission to six and 12 months after discharge. These were youths with very high rates of severity at admission to MST and showed great improvement in all areas examined, including improved functioning, decreased mental health and substance-abuse problems, and cost savings to the state through reductions in using Medicaid-funded behavioral health services.