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Multisystemic Therapy: A Comparison with Other Treatment Approaches Consortium on Children, Families and the Law

NCJ Number
191590
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This document compares multisystemic therapy with other treatment approaches.
Abstract
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an intensive family- and community-based treatment that addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior in juvenile offenders. MST addresses the factors associated with delinquency across a youth’s key systems (family, peers, school, and neighborhood). MST promotes behavior change in the youth’s natural environment by using the strengths of each system to foster positive change. There are three major points that separate MST from other treatments for antisocial behavior. They are research, treatment theory, and implementation. MST is a well-validated treatment model with eight randomized clinical trials completed and several others underway. Studies show that MST reduced long-term rates of re-arrest of violent and chronic juvenile offenders by 25 percent to 70 percent compared with control groups. MST builds on decades of research about the determinants of antisocial behavior. More than 20 research groups have conducted studies that show relationships among the key risk and protective factors that contribute to serious behavioral problems in youth. The MST therapist, the MST team, and the host agency are responsible for removing barriers to service accessibility and for achieving outcomes with every case. Treatment adherence is optimized by stringent quality assurance mechanisms that include task-oriented, on-site supervision; measurement of adherence to the treatment model; intensive training for all MST staff; weekly case consultation with an MST expert; and quarterly booster training. The ultimate goals of MST are to provide the youth’s primary caregivers with the skills and resources they need to address independently the difficulties that arise when rearing teenagers with behavioral problems and to give youth the skills to cope with family, peer, school, and neighborhood problems.