Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is an adaptation of MST that was developed to treat families who:
Have come to the attention of Child Protective Services due to physical abuse and/or neglect
Have a target child in the age range of 6 to 17
Have had a new report of abuse or neglect in the past 180 days
MST-CAN teams MST-CAN works with families to keep children at home with increased safety. The focus is providing treatment to the whole family with special attention given to parents to overcome some of the challenges they face to parenting. It is very common for parents in MST-CAN programs to have experienced a traumatic event and treatment is provided to help overcome the impact of trauma.
In MST-CAN programs a great deal of safety planning is included in addition to treatment for anger management difficulties, parental or youth substance abuse, and family problem solving and communication problems.
The MST-CAN team delivers treatment in the family’s home at flexible times, with a 24/7 on call service to help the family manage crises after hours. Treatment lasts for 6 to 9 months.
Because of the complexity of the issues families face, in addition to master’s degreed therapists, a full-time crisis caseworker and a part-time psychiatrist with capacity to treat adults and children are added to the team.
MST-CAN Outcomes In a five-year clinical trial, MST-CAN was proven to be more effective than enhanced outpatient treatment. Across 16 months, youth who received MST-CAN showed:
Significantly greater reductions in internalizing problems such as anxiety and dissociation, total behavior problems, and PTSD symptoms
Significantly fewer out-of-home placements
Significantly fewer changes in placement
Significantly greater reductions in parenting problems such as neglectful parenting, minor and severe assault of the child, and psychological aggression:
Significantly less decreases in non-violent discipline
Significantly greater increases in natural social support
Significantly greater treatment satisfaction
For additional information on MST-CAN implementation visit MST-CAN.
