Are 'Troublesome Youths' Costing Norway Too Much?

Posted by Ingvild Tisløv, MST Expert

An MST expert's response

In the Norwegian newspaper, Dagsavisen, Marianne Dæhlen, a researcher at Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, questioned whether Norway uses too many resources on "troublesome youths." She maintained that young people today behave better than ever and that specialized measures aimed at those with behavioral problems cannot be defended in an economic perspective. In my opinion, she fails to see the whole picture. 

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Topics: Troubled Youth

How Does MST Work with an Individual Offender?

Posted by Lori Moore

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.

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Topics: Troubled Youth

How to Best Treat High Risk Juvenile Offenders in Connecticut

Posted by Julie Revaz

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). 

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Topics: Troubled Youth

Should Troubled Teens Go to Wilderness Programs or Boot Camps?

Posted by Laurie Spivey

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.

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Topics: Troubled Youth

Deviant Peer Groups Lead to Deviant Behavior

Posted by P Cunningham, Ph.D

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. 

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Topics: Troubled Youth

Hanging Out With the Wrong Crowd

Posted by Lori Moore

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).

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Topics: Troubled Youth

What to Do With an Out-Of-Control Pregnant Teen

Posted by Jill Kleinfelter

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.

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Topics: Troubled Youth

How to Deal With an Angry Teen?

Posted by Geena Jacobsson

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. 

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Topics: Troubled Youth

What to Do with an Out-Of-Control Youth?

Posted by Sophie Karpf

“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.

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Topics: Troubled Youth

Multisystemic Therapy Puts End to Young Man's Criminal Behavior

Posted by Geena Jacobsson

Using MST and tech-savvy to stop a 14-year-old’s criminal enterprise

Danny was referred to Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for stealing, truancy and verbal aggression at home. The treatment addressed all these problems. One, in particular, took some creative thinking.

At 14, Danny was quite the entrepreneur. Very clever at buying low and selling high, he had a business going where he sold electronics, clothes and high-end sneakers to his friends, to friends of friends and to people out of town who were nobody’s friends. He used online platforms to pay his customers and to get paid.

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Topics: Troubled Youth