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Surgeon General’s Report: “Elaborate training, supervision, and monitoring for treatment adherence make this an exemplary approach. Furthermore, publication of an MST manual and the high level of clinical training in MST distinguish this model from other types of family preservation.” (Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1999)
U.S. Department of Justice: “Best of all, MST offers new hope to young people with serious behavioral disorders.” (Shay Bilchick, Director, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin, May 1997
Washington State Institute of Public Policy: For MST the combined benefits produce a net gain of $21, 863 per participant. This figure climbs to over $61,000 per participant when the reduced costs of out-of-home placement are included. (Washington State Institute of Public Policy Report, January 1998
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA):
“MST significantly reduces adolescent drug use during treatment and for at least 6 months after treatment. Reduced numbers of incarcerations and out-of-home placements of juveniles offset the cost of providing this intensive service and maintaining the clinician’s low caseloads.” (Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide, NIDA, 1999)
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT):
“The MST approach has proven effective through lowered recidivism rates among participants, improved family and peer relations, decreased behavior problems, and decreased rates of out-of-home placement…. This approach specializes in bringing services to the families in the communities where they live.” (Strategies for Integrating Substance Abuse Treatment and the Juvenile Justice System: A Practice Guide, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Denver Juvenile Justice Integrated Treatment Network, 1998)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CASP): MST is listed in CASP’s National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs and was a recipient of a 2000 Exemplary Substance Abuse Prevention Program award. “I can think of no better way to highlight your program as one of those models of excellence than with this award – a Federal ‘seal of approval.’” (Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Blueprints for Violence Prevention Editor – about MST:
“Ten years ago, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation, we’ve had a major breakthrough [in the field of violence prevention] in the last 4 to 5 years.” (Delbert Elliott, Ph.D., Series Editor, Blueprints of Violence Prevention, NBC Dateline Broadcast, 1998)
RAND Report to the National Institute of Mental Health:
“We need to explore mechanisms that can be utilized to facilitate risk-taking in our research industry. One promising model might be the efforts engaged by Henggeler’s group to organize a separate entity to disseminate Multisystemic Therapy (MST).” (NIMH Meeting, 1999)
Identifying and Developing Empirically Supported Child and Adolescent Treatments:
“In relation to identifying empirically validated treatments, MST is unique insofar as providing replications across problems, therapists, and settings. This shows that the treatment and methods of decision making can be extended and that treatment effects are reliable.” (Alan Kazdin, Ph.D., Yale University, & John Weisz, Ph.D., UCLA, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1998)
Effective Treatment of Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents:
“Among the services with clearly substantiated effectiveness, home-based services, particularly multisystemic therapy (MST), that target specific problem areas for children, such as peer associations, parental monitoring, and coordination with schools, have been shown to improve outcomes, even over a 4-year period.” (Barbara Burns, Ph.D., Duke University, Kimberly Hoagwood, Ph.D., National Institute of Mental Health, & Patricia Mrazek, Ph.D., Prevention Technologies, in Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1999)
An Advance in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents:
“In the broad contexts of treatment research and services delivery, MST is quite special…. There is strong evidence in behalf of MST and that alone would provide a firm basis for distinguishing this treatment from the tsunami of available techniques.” (Alan Kazdin, Ph.D., Yale University, in American Psychology Association Review of Books, 1999)
Also featuring MST:
MST is currently being used in over 30 states in the U.S. and in 9 other countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, England, Sweden, Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway. Statewide infrastructure exist in Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio and South Carolina.