Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN)

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Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN)

Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect is a research supported treatment serving families where physical abuse or neglect has occurred.

Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) is an evidence-based (i.e., research supported) program for children ages 6-17 and their families, who come under the guidance of child protective services due to physical abuse and/or neglect. MST-CAN is currently available in 4 countries around the world. MST-CAN is administered to families in the home and at times convenient to the family. It is an intensive treatment involving a minimum of 3 sessions per week. All members of the family are involved in the treatment. Common treatment strategies include safety planning, Cognitive Behavioral Therapies for managing anger and addressing the impact of trauma, Reinforcement-Based Therapy for adult substance misuse, family therapy focused on communication and problem solving, and sessions to support the parent in taking responsibility for the events that brought the family to child protection. CLINICAL TEAM

All needed treatment is provided by a clinical team. The team consists of:
1 full-time supervisor
3 full-time therapists
1 full-time case manager
1 part-time psychiatrist

Each therapist is the clinical lead with 3-4 families. The team operates a crisis on-call system so that families can access clinical interventions outside regular hours. Importantly, the MST-CAN team works very carefully to work cooperatively and collaboratively with child protection on behalf of the family. TRAINING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

MST-CAN follows a very rigorous training and quality assurance system to assure that the clinical team is following the model in the way it was conducted during the research trials. Doing so increases the likelihood that the family will achieve clinical outcomes. Training and QA processes include:
- 5 days of standard Multisystemic Therapy orientation training
- 4 days of MST-CAN training (including 2 days of training in treatment of adult substance misuse)
- 4 days of training on trauma treatment for adults and children
- Quarterly booster trainings for the team on important clinical topics
- Weekly case supervision
- Weekly case consultation wtih an MST-CAN expert
- Fully articulated treatment manual
- Monthly interviews with the family to assess therapist adherence to the model
- Measures of supervisor and consultant adherence to the model. BENEFITS SHOWN THROUGH RIGOROUS RESEARCH
Through a randomized effectiveness trial funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, MST-CAN was compared to enhanced outpatient therapy. The known benefits of MST-CAN include:

YOUTH
- Reductions in internalizing problems such as anxiety, dissociation, and post traumatic stress disorder symptoms
- Fewer out-of-home placements
- Fewer changes in placements for those who had to be placed

ADULTS
- Greater reductions in psychological distress
- Greater increases in natural social supports
- Greater treatment satisfaction

PARENTING
- More likely to use non-violent discipline
- Greater reductions in:
-Neglectful parenting
-Minor and severe assault of the child
-Psychological aggression

10/18/2025

07/20/2022

Today we have Sonya Jenkins on our mind. Sonya works for Charleston/Dorchester Mental Health, the site of the first MST-CAN Randomized Effectiveness Trial that locally we called the PEACE Project, Betta Fuh Fambly (From Gullah Geechee - for the Family). Sonya was the first MST-CAN therapist in history. She is fantastic and after our trial finished, she went on to be a supervisor of many programs. On Monday of this week, Sonya retired. It's hard to believe our first MST-CAN therapist is now retired. Best wishes to you Sonya and may this new chapter bring you joy.

Sonya is so gracious to allow me ( Cyn Swenson) to use one of her experiences as a case example when I do MST-CAN training and we get to the part where we are talking about safety assessment, safety planning, and well, exotic pets.

The situation was this... Sonya was seeing a family that had a very large pit bull. Sonya is a bit afraid of dogs. The family always put the dog in the back of the house when they had sessions at the home. One day, Sonya arrived for the session and the family was not home yet. She got out of her car and shut the door and locked it only to hear a sound, turned around, and there was the pit bull staring at her intensively. Taken by surprise, she screamed and threw her keys in the air. The dog grabbed the keys and ran under the house with them. Here is Sonya with a locked car and a very big pit bull. She saw the keys that the dog had walked away from by now and was trying to reach under the house and get them. The dog came around and grabbed one of her boots and took it off her foot. So, now here is Sonya with a locked car, no keys, and only one boot. Luckily, the family arrived, and all was sorted.

Thank you again Sonya for the many many wonderful stories and the great service to families. Thank you for helping us learn what is needed to help families stay together safely and to help everyone heal.

One day we may have to all write a book about these experiences that actually are not too surprising and all in the life of an MST-CAN therapist.

With Gratitude,
Cindy

02/02/2022

Congrats to Swiss colleagues on publishing this study on MST-CAN. Thanks for the great work everyone.

Bauch, J., Hefti, S., Oeltjen, L., Pérez, T., Swenson, C.C., Fürstenau, U, Rhiner, B., & Schmid, M. (2022). Multisystemic therapy for child abuse and neglect: Parental stress and parental mental health as predictors of change in child neglect, Child Abuse and Neglect, 126, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105489

Publilshers link that provides the article until March.

https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1eU0SX18YRrVK

Despite high prevalence, child neglect has long been passed over in research. Serious long-term consequences call for effective intervention programs.…

11/03/2021

We are very happy to have our randomized effectiveness trial on MST-Building Stronger Families published this morning in the journal, Child Abuse and Neglect. This model is MST-CAN and RBT in cases where all families referred are experiencing parental substance misuse or addiction plus physical abuse and/or neglect.

Elsevier has given us permission to share this link for our RCT publication.

The link is available for 50 days. You can download the pdf and have the article.

Here's the link. Thanks to everyone for all you do and for support of this work.

Here's the link:

Your personalized Share Link:
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1e0e5X18YO2R8

Best,
Cindy (and Cindy)

Parental substance misuse impacts millions of children globally and is a major determinant of repeat maltreatment and out-of-home placement. There is …

04/30/2021

Congratulations to this great group of Supervisors, Therapists, and Psychiatrists from the UK and Netherlands who just completed training on Reinforcement-BasedTreatment, MST-CAN / MST-BSF adult substance misuse model. And congratulations to Anne Edmondson, who did an amazing presentation.

03/06/2021

Welcome to the four new therapists from New South Wales. We are glad to have your skills and talents in MST-CAN.

12/01/2020

The latest trainees from New South Wales. They completed the training on trauma treatment for adults.

10/31/2020

It was so good to have this opportunity to see everyone at the MST-CAN workshop at the MST Network Partner Conference. Below are the MST-CAN developers, coaches, and experts/ consultants from the US and Europe who work hard every day to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect in their community. I am so impressed with their knowledge and dedication. We are so lucky to have all of you. Thanks for all you do.

05/15/2020

Congratulations to Silje Therese Sæther who has written her masters:

Foreldres opplevelse av MST-CAN-behandling En kvalitativ studie
(Parents' experience of MST-CAN treatment: A qualitative study)

The study involved families from the MST-CAN program in Norway. The outcomes were very positive. This quote from a parent says it all:

“She wasn't just a therapist for us, she became part of the family”

Congrats from all of us at MST-CAN and well done Norway team!!

05/12/2020

Congratulations to this great group of therapists from all over New South Wales for completing training to treat trauma in children and adults. Virtual training has made it possible for us to continue to train.

04/12/2020

Dear wonderful MST-CAN, MST-BSF, and MST-IPV teams,
Hello and we all hope you are doing well. The past weeks have been a total roller coaster. We all have been working to help our families stay safe at a time we cannot see them face-to-face. Our families have been stressed to the max with the changes and having everyone under one roof 24/7. Many of you have children home from school with a distance learning need that is challenging to fill. Our clients with PTSD are seeing symptoms exacerbated by the stress of COVID 19. It’s a lot and a lot. Please know we are thinking of you very strongly. One of the best things we can do for our client families and our own personal families is to be a force of calm. Relationships will get us through. Self care is really really important right now. Find a way to play every day. Many people that you never see are behind you and working to figure out best ways to support you and our families through this time. Please know how treasured you are and how much confidence we have in you. If you have positive things to share on this platform please do. Education or exercise YouTube videos are always good to share. Day to day “survival” tips are welcome. Stay strong and well and safe.
With Gratitude,
Cindy Swenson

03/13/2020

For us to think about....

The coronavirus is spreading, and The Chronicle is gathering thoughts about what state and local systems need to start thinking about

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MST Services, 710 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, Suite 200
Mount Pleasant, SC
29464

Website

http://www.mstcan.com/, http://www.mstservices.com/

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