multisystemic therapy

smallworld

Moderator
I'm not sure I've heard of this (which is not a positive or negative, just a fact). Can you tell us a little more about it or provide a link that gives more info?
 

klmno

Active Member
I know what it is. It drove me nuts and I went to court to have the order for it removed. However, that is becuase in difficult child's case, it was supposed to replace his other mental health treatment and he had just rec'd a diagnosis of bipolar and CD was ruled out . (That doesn't mean my son doesn't have conduct issues.). Plus, it was quite time-consuming and at my son's age (he was 12yo at the time), I needed to be working, helping him with his homework, etc.

In your case, I honestly think this might be a great thing for you and your daughter. They will assin a person that they call a therapist (that's somewhat of a stretch although it will probably be a sw) who will come to your home 2-3 times a week. That person will also meet with anyone else at places your daughter attends regularly- as in school. They will discourage any other therapist in her life. They will write a plan (ie a behavioral contract) to be followed by her and enforced by you and sd. They will include requirements specified for recreation, time with friends, etc. They will allow for things like church if your family attends. Rewards and consequences are written out and must be followed or YOU are found non-compliant, if the court ordered it.

Basicly, it is the strict behavior modification. It is known to be effective for Conduct Disorder. It can be an issue with BiPolar (BP), however, if the difficult child is not stabilized and still has manic or major depressive periods, as many of us here know. No contract will help my difficult child when he isn't stable- it will boil down to "when/if nothing in the contract works, then he is not compliant so call 911", which puts us right back where we started. But, in your case, it sounds like it could take a lot of what you are personally doing off your shoulders and put some of this responsibility on a cm and your daughter.

It typically lasts from 4 to 8 months. The person (cm) assigned will be talking to you on the phone and available to you in between those home visits.
 

klmno

Active Member
Here is the description of MST on my county's website. Based on my research, this is typical. Don't let anyone fool you (like they did me here in the courts), there are other types of in-home therapy.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an evidence-based practice, with extensive statistical data to prove its effectiveness for treating youth with significant behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiant behavior (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). MST is a family-and home-based treatment that focuses on improving youth functioning in their natural settings - home, school, and community. MST is designed to be a comprehensive intervention that focuses on all of the systems which impact a youth's life. For this reason, individual and group therapy are not recommended as adjunct services during the time a youth is receiving MST.

MST Treatment Principles:

Partner with families by identifying strengths, developing natural support systems, and removing barriers that interfere with their capacity to function effectively as parents.

Promote positive social behaviors while decreasing antisocial behaviors.

Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, with weekly renegotiation of strategies as needed to achieve successful outcomes.

Part of my problem with it was the personality of the guy we got. He said we would discuss our goals, then came over with a list of goals written out for us. Mind you, I was not ordered to do therapy and I wasn't too fond of him deciding my therapeutic goals. His goal was for difficult child to get off probation and the behavioral contract had to be successfully in order to meet the goal. My goal was for difficult child to get stabilized on mood stabilizers. We didn't hit it off too well. LOL! But, given your situation, a lot of my frustrations would not apply to you and your daughter.
 
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