Have you been referred to MST?

MST stands for Multisystemic Therapy.

Multisystemic Therapy is an intensive family and community based intervention for children and young people aged 11-17. MST work with the families of young people who are at risk of being placed into care or custody.

MST focus on the young person – their homes, families, friends, schools, teachers and neighbours. MST teams will work intensively with families and visit them at home for 3 to 5 months. This includes the service being available on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the family.

The aims are to:

• Empower parents or carers with resources of how to manage the young person’s behaviour
• Improve family relationships
• Promote a positive interaction within the family; this will include engaging in family activities
•  Increase young people’s engagement with education
• Reduce young people’s offending

MST uses approaches such as behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and structured family therapy to work with young people and their families.

This service is not limited to families with young people aged 11-17 years old. MST-CAN work with families with children aged 6-17 years old.

MST-CAN

MST-CAN stands for Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect.

MST-CAN is developed to treat families who have become involved with Social Services due to physical abuse and/or neglect of their children aged 6-17 years old.

MST-CAN works with families and children at home to increase their safety. The focus is on providing treatment to the whole family with special attention being given to parents to overcome the challenges that they may face in parenting.

Treatment for anger management difficulties, parental or youth substance misuse, family problem solving and communication problems. The MST-CAN team are also on call to the family 24 hours, 7 days a week and this treatment can last between 6 to 9 months.  

There have been studies to show that the MST teams are effective in reducing parent’s physical and psychological aggression towards their children and neglectful parenting. MST is also more effective at reducing parent and child mental health problems and increasing natural social supports.

If your family is currently involved with Social Services and they have suggested that you engage with MST then we are able to discuss this further with you. Here at Johnson Astills, members of our Care Department are highly experienced and can deal with a wide range of matters where Social Services are involved.  If you require legal representation at a Child Protection Conference, Pre-Proceedings Meeting  or would like advice in relation to your matter do not hesitate to visit our Care Team Page on our Johnson Astills website or call our Leicester office on 0116 255 4855 or Loughborough office on 01509 610312 or email us at careteam@johnsonastills.com.