Multisystemic Therapy
What is Multisystemic Therapy?
Multisystemic therapy refers to an intensive family and community based therapy program. It aims at controlling and altering the behaviour of teenagers and adolescents, who are at risk of being placed in a special institution for treatment in the form of hospitalization, foster care, correctional institutions or group homes. This form of therapy focuses on the parents’ or primary caregivers’ abilities to identify and change problematic behavior. Multisystemic therapy or MST is based on the belief that parents or primary care givers have the strongest influence on the lives of adolescents.
MST Services Inc. is certified by the Medical University of South Carolina. The therapy program has been in action for more than 25 years now and is found to be effective in controlling antisocial behavior of chronic juvenile offenders, inner city delinquents, juvenile substance abusers, adolescents with psychiatric disorders as well as those with abusive parents (Schaeffer C. M. & Borduin C. M. ,2005). The MST has also focused its attention on adolescents, who may make a threat to themselves or to others. It aims to reduce the need for hospitalization and “out-of-home” treatment for teenagers.
Why is it effective with juvenile delinquents?
MST has a plan consisting of nine stages that is claimed to be the basis of its successful interventions. In addition to this, researchers find that the fact that the MST staff adhere to the plan makes it an effective one. The community based mental health program is quite intensive and it ranges from four to six months. The high level therapists work together with parents, teachers, school counselors, case workers and with the officers assigned to the case. The members of the MST staff offer their services 24 four hours a day, if required, and are flexible in their time-scheduling of appointments with parents and guardians.
Some of the specific MST methods and techniques include family therapy, behaviour parent training and cognitive behavioural therapy. The therapy seeks to identify the core problem that lead to the delinquent behaviour or truancy. It focuses on the positive aspects or strengths of the situation and builds an action plan accordingly. Treatment is planned to give the feeling of responsibility for their behaviour to both teenagers and adults. This is done by providing a supportive environment to the family. Action oriented treatment is devised keeping in mind the existing problems and vigorous efforts are applied to achieve good results according to the set time plan. Intermediate and final goals are set by the family with the guidance of the therapists (Henggeler, S. W., Schoenwald S., Bordun C., Rowland M. & Cunningham.P.,1998).
The treatment is meant for both teenagers and parents or care givers. Sometimes this may require joint counseling or separate counseling. It is ascertained that the treatment and action plans correspond to the teenager’s age and growth. The treatment presupposes that much efforts are applied daily. The success and effectiveness of the therapy are regularly evaluated, so that changes could be introduced if necessary. And finally the therapy is designed to offer long term skills to the adolescents as well as the adults in the family so that they could address family issues and problems in a multiple systemic manner.
The success of MST is based on two basic factors. Firstly, timely treatment and support to the family leads to positive outcomes and behaviour modification. And secondly, strong adherence of the staff to the basic principle of the therapy has made this model of therapy a success.
Multisystemic therapy refers to an intensive family and community based therapy program. It aims at controlling and altering the behaviour of teenagers and adolescents, who are at risk of being placed in a special institution for treatment in the form of hospitalization, foster care, correctional institutions or group homes. This form of therapy focuses on the parents’ or primary caregivers’ abilities to identify and change problematic behavior. Multisystemic therapy or MST is based on the belief that parents or primary care givers have the strongest influence on the lives of adolescents.
MST Services Inc. is certified by the Medical University of South Carolina. The therapy program has been in action for more than 25 years now and is found to be effective in controlling antisocial behavior of chronic juvenile offenders, inner city delinquents, juvenile substance abusers, adolescents with psychiatric disorders as well as those with abusive parents (Schaeffer C. M. & Borduin C. M. ,2005). The MST has also focused its attention on adolescents, who may make a threat to themselves or to others. It aims to reduce the need for hospitalization and “out-of-home” treatment for teenagers.
Why is it effective with juvenile delinquents?
MST has a plan consisting of nine stages that is claimed to be the basis of its successful interventions. In addition to this, researchers find that the fact that the MST staff adhere to the plan makes it an effective one. The community based mental health program is quite intensive and it ranges from four to six months. The high level therapists work together with parents, teachers, school counselors, case workers and with the officers assigned to the case. The members of the MST staff offer their services 24 four hours a day, if required, and are flexible in their time-scheduling of appointments with parents and guardians.
Some of the specific MST methods and techniques include family therapy, behaviour parent training and cognitive behavioural therapy. The therapy seeks to identify the core problem that lead to the delinquent behaviour or truancy. It focuses on the positive aspects or strengths of the situation and builds an action plan accordingly. Treatment is planned to give the feeling of responsibility for their behaviour to both teenagers and adults. This is done by providing a supportive environment to the family. Action oriented treatment is devised keeping in mind the existing problems and vigorous efforts are applied to achieve good results according to the set time plan. Intermediate and final goals are set by the family with the guidance of the therapists (Henggeler, S. W., Schoenwald S., Bordun C., Rowland M. & Cunningham.P.,1998).
The treatment is meant for both teenagers and parents or care givers. Sometimes this may require joint counseling or separate counseling. It is ascertained that the treatment and action plans correspond to the teenager’s age and growth. The treatment presupposes that much efforts are applied daily. The success and effectiveness of the therapy are regularly evaluated, so that changes could be introduced if necessary. And finally the therapy is designed to offer long term skills to the adolescents as well as the adults in the family so that they could address family issues and problems in a multiple systemic manner.
The success of MST is based on two basic factors. Firstly, timely treatment and support to the family leads to positive outcomes and behaviour modification. And secondly, strong adherence of the staff to the basic principle of the therapy has made this model of therapy a success.
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Multisystemic Therapy
1 comments:
I can honestly say I've never heard of this, but I can defiantly see how it would help people out. I've always been pro therapy, because I feel like it's good just to talk to people about things. It really makes life so much easier if you just talk about it every so often.
http://familytherapyvacations.com
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