MST moves beyond the labels that stigmatize troubled youth

Labels. Labels we are given, and ones we take on and allow to define us. For young people who are involved in juvenile justice, and for many who become MST clients, labels can get in the way of success. Maybe they are marked as “bad kids” because they are on probation or parole. Maybe it’s a mental health diagnosis or a learning disability that is allowed to become their label. Some kids are remembered for a crime they committed or by the reputation their families have in the community. Thankfully, we don’t live in the 17th century and have to literally wear a scarlet letter stitched across our clothing. Being put into a category can still be incredibly damaging and difficult to overcome. In particular, when we internalize it.

Lessons learned from other MST teams and an experienced expert to meet the challenges of working in the inner city

Two years ago, CSI's (Community Solutions Inc.) New Jersey Multisystemic Therapy (MST) teams were struggling. Retaining staff and achieving positive outcomes for families was proving to be very difficult. Everyone was invested—they were just unsure if MST could work in their neighborhoods. The communities were experiencing high levels of violence, and families were increasingly losing hope. The program manager of the New Jersey teams wasn’t sure if MST alone was a viable treatment option given everything that was happening in the area. The program leadership wondered whether therapists would be safe when they went to see families. Could they successfully engage people who had strong distrust of professionals? Could they help families rearrange their ecologies so that young people did not get rearrested during the course of MST? Could they work to get young people back to school?

Michelle Robinson receiving her WIT award at the 2017 International Conference pictured alongside Scott Henggeler

To understand how MST works with a youth in trouble, you must understand how MST works with the whole system

“Why aren’t you working with my child? He’s the one who got in trouble and is causing all the problems, not me!”

“I heard MST never does individual treatment with the individual offender. Is that true?”

Because Multisystemic Therapy (MST) draws the whole family and community into the treatment, some people think the teen with the unacceptable behavior gets no individual attention. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

To answer those questions, you have to understand the treatment, its principles and processes.

Lessons learned in Conn. can be applied to other states grappling with high risk youth

In Connecticut, you might say that these are the best of times and the worst of times. At the end of the last fiscal year, the state budget crisis prompted the layoff of dozens of probation officers, consolidation of several courts, elimination of some contracted services and a whopping, across-the-board, 6.9-percent budget reduction to all remaining juvenile services. What’s worse, additional cuts may be required as the current fiscal year closes. 

However, in what is broadly considered a victory for children, the governor recently called for the closure of the state’s only secure facility for sentenced youth, the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS). 

If you're thinking of sending your teen to a wilderness program or boot camp, think twice

It's not uncommon for an overwhelmed parent to say, “I need to send him [or her] someplace else.” Whether a young person is running away, refusing to attend school, using drugs or is involved in crime, many parents come to believe military-style boot camps or wilderness programs are the only options left. Heavily marketed and popularized in the 1990s, some parents see boot camps as the way to send a clear message to their kids that their behavior will no longer be tolerated.

But is a boot camp or wilderness program really the most effective way to handle a teen’s unacceptable behavior? There may be more effective alternatives.

Research shows that grouping troubled teens together creates worse outcomes

In the world of public and school policy to deal with adolescents who engage in antisocial behavior (delinquency, substance abuse) one area that seldom receives the attention it deserves is the side effects of commonly used prevention and intervention strategies. 

Your mother was right—Who you hang out with influences what you do

I remember when I was growing up, the youngest of 11 children, my mother would tell me not to hang out with "those kids," the wrong crowd, the ones who would get me in trouble. And of course, I would protest, "No, they won’t. They are my friends." Then, inevitably, they did. Nothing too major, just enough that I knew my friends had a big influence on me. 

It turns out that research shows my mother was right. When looking at the predictors of anti-social behavior, "negative peer association" is the most powerful one, making it a high-risk factor for the teens we work with in Multisystemic Therapy (MST).

Using a family’s strengths is critical to MST success

Some kids have a hard time fitting into the world around them. They have trouble in school. The police know them. They are disconnected from critical family relationships. And their friendships are fleeting, at best. Marissa came into the juvenile-justice system because she was truant from school, pregnant and "running the streets" every night. Her out-of-control behaviors put her at high risk for going into custody.

Multisystemic Therapy turns anger into motivation

Allen did not like school and therefore, refused to go. No one could make him do anything he didn’t want to do. If they tried, he’d yell, throw things and generally scare them into backing down.

Everyone backed down when Allen showed them who was boss. Mom did. Schoolteachers did. Social workers did. His anger was a very powerful weapon, and he used it as often as he felt necessary to keep people from telling him what to do. 

“For years, we had to defend our crazy.” These are the words Susan used to describe the situation with her son, Benjamin. 

For confidentiality, all names have been changed.

By the time Benjamin was 12, his family had nearly reached the end of their rope. With seven members of a blended family living under the same roof, things were understandably chaotic at times. They were only made more strained by Benjamin’s frequent angry outbursts and out-of-control rage.