Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for Youth Offending, Psychiatric Disorder and Substance Abuse: Case Examples from a UK MST Team.

Background:   The paper illustrates the MST treatment model with three types of presenting problem in young people aged 14-15.

Method:   The MST model is described and then illustrated with detailed case material from a violent young person convicted of robbery, a young person with a history of serious self-harming behaviour and hospitalisation, and a young person persistently smoking cannabis.

Results:   All three cases improved after the MST intervention despite disparate presenting problems that included re-offending, the elimination of self-harming behaviour and a significant reduction in the use of cannabis.