Multisystemic Therapy [MST]

A community and family based program designed to help 12-17 year old youth with disruptive problems.  MST promotes positive change by supporting and aligning caregivers within all of the youth’s “systems” (home, school, church, etc.).  MST also provides 24/7 crisis consultation services to families.  MST can also help teenagers with substance abuse problems or those who’ve experienced traumatic stress.  It typically takes around 4 months to complete but this length of time can change depending on the situation.

What should my therapist be doing?

• Working flexibly with you, your child, and the various environments in their life (e.g., church, school, probation officer, etc.)

• Identifying problem behaviors and the causes of these behaviors

• Focusing treatment on your child’s strengths

• Breaking down larger treatment goals into smaller ones

• Teaching your child various skills (e.g., problem-solving, skill-building, educational/vocational planning, etc.)

• Helping you use behavior management (youth monitoring, praise, differential reinforcement, rewards, problem-solving, maintenance) and other skills (e.g., parent education of behavior problems, individual/marital therapy, and parental coping) across various settings

 What should I be doing?

• Attending all of the treatment sessions

• Utilizing your new set of behavior management skills

• Ensuring that your child practices the skills that they have learned in session

• Consistently enforce the rules that are established in your home

How will I know if it is working?

• Your child’s disruptive behavior will gradually decrease.

• The communication between your family members will improve.

• Your child’s interaction with peers and family members will improve (e.g., less fighting).

• Your child will follow rules at home and school more often.