Multisystemic Therapy (MST)

	Home     Learn About Us     Events     Family Resiliency     Functional Family Therapy     MRDD Services     MTFC Program     Multisystemic Therapy     Residential Program     Celebrate over 150 Years!     Survey Results     Employment     Support Us     Contact Us		What is Multisystemic Therapy? Multisystemic Therapy is one of three exiting, new, evidence-based interventions for at-risk youth and their families that have been cited by the U.S. Surgeon General as "programs that work." This means that these interventions have had solid, proven clinical results. In 2005, Cayuga Home for Children became the first and only agency in New York State—and the second agency in the entire nation—to implement all three evidence-based programs (Multisystemic Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, and Multi-Dimensional Treatment Foster Care). Multisystemic Therapy is our newest addition, and we are very excited to offer it in Cayuga, Ontario, and Monroe Counties. Cayuga Home for Children's Multisystemic Therapy program offers home-based family therapy services to families with anti-social/aggressive children ages 11–18. Founded on the principle that connecting with the different "players" (family, school, peers, etc.) in a troubled child's life is one of the most effective ways to help a child change his or her problematic behavior, we work to empower adults in their parenting techniques and to build on a family's strengths. Because we believe that families are truly our partners, we work with you in your home to meet your needs. We are responsive to your family's culture, values, and lifestyle. The Multisystemic Therapy approach Multisystemic Therapy is an appropriate intervention for children with anti-social/aggressive traits for whom other programs have not worked and who are at imminent risk of out-of-home placement. MST's core approach is that residential placement is only appropriate for children who cannot live safely at home. As a result, we do our best to keep children in a secure situation with their families. We do this by interviewing those people within the "concentric circles of influence"— the child's family, friends, teachers, peer groups, ministers, and other significant community members. We then form a hypothesis about the source of the problem and help set appropriate goals for the child, while supporting the parents (usually the strongest "concentric circle of influence") in helping the child to change his or her behavior. Then, using a feedback loop from the family, we reassess the goals as necessary and help empower the parents by building on the family's strengths until the desired result is achieved. Cayuga Home for Children currently offers MST as a diversion program in Cayuga, Ontario, and Monroe Counties. We work with a family for an average for 3–5 months, with an average of 2–4 face-to-face contacts per week. We provide on-call service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and meet with the family in the home at times that are convenient to the family, including nights and weekends. At this time, MST is accessible through referrals from designated county agencies or OCFS. Our Multisystemic Therapy programs are supported in part by grants received from New York State's Office of Children and Family Services.

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