Question

Do you think MST would be an effective treatment program for juvenile offenders with a severe mental disorder comorbid with conduct issues? Give an example. Why or why not?

Answer 1

MULTISYSTEM THERAPY-

Multisystemic therapy (MST) is an intensive family- and community-based treatment program designed to make positive changes in the various social systems (home, school, community, peer relations) that contribute to the serious antisocial behaviors of children and adolescents who are at risk for out-of-home placement. In multisystem therapy intensive treatment are provided through many social system (home, school,community, peer relations) to juvenile offenders children with serious criminal offences and to those children who are using substances e.g. alcohol, smoking and other drugs. In short, we can say that this therapy strategy teach family,school, community, peer relations and other social system to foster success in recovery of juvenile children with serious criminal offences and others.

I think MST can not be a effective because it only focuses social system such as family, community, school, peer relations for the recovery of juvenile offenders and can not engage itself with the juvenile offenders children because to become an effective treatment it is necessary to interact with the juvenile offenders children to know his/her problems completely and take into consideration every point of view and every problem of juvenile offenders children and provide a effective therapy.

Example- a children become depressed and consuming alcohol because of bad results of exam. It is necessary to interact with the depressed children to know his/her personal problem for which he got bad results and suggestions should be given to him/her to overcome from his/her personal problem and suggestions should also be given to his/her family, community, peer relations and school to help him to overcome his/her personal problem or any other problems if exists.

Multisystem therapy can not be effective treatment program for juvenile offenders with a severe mental disorder comorbid with conduct issues because it only focus the social system for which the results of MST are to lower rates of criminal behavior in juvenile offenders. There are several things MST therapy must include: integration of empirically based treatment to acknowledge a large variety of risk factors that may be influencing the behavior; rewards for positive changes in behavior and environment to ultimately empower caregivers; and many thorough quality assurance mechanisms that focus on completing objectives set in treatment.