MST Therapy Does This Sound Dodgy?

[SuperFi]

We have been referred for Multsystemic Therapy following DS 14 violent and challenging behaviour at home and school.

DS has diagnosis of ASD and ADHD.

I was all up for trying it but I was told by the MST people that if I engage with them, I will no longer be able to engage with our Barnadoes Family support worker. They said they will be doing the work the Barnardo’s worker does. , and after the therapy finishes I won’t need the family support worker .

The MST runs for 20 weeks, but there’s no guarantee it will work and then I would be left without our family support worker , who has been a great help to me, with practical support, I can’t see how it would interfere with the MST.

The MST team are also working for my local council, who I have already taken to a tribunal once about DS ECHP, and may have to do so again. I am always having to go to meetings and value having independent support from Barnardo’s I just don’t trust my LA at all.

The referral for the MST was made by DS school after he assaulted a teacher, I have asked for him to be moved schools as I don’t think they can met his needs.

MST (Multi Systemic Therapy) is super intense (3 sessions a week for you, not your child) and requires a lot of effort and commitment from family. It can work really well but obvs, you do need a good relationship with your practitioner. Can you meet the person who would be working with you before making a decision? Will Barnardo’s take you back on if it turns out you do need them again? Does your current family support worker know anything about the MST service locally?

MST is usually an NHS service, rather than an LA funded one (but may vary with area).

They look at Multiple Systems in your child’s life (family dynamics, school environment, peer group) and help you/the school to make changes in those environments and routines that then results in better behaviour from the teen. It’s sort of like family therapy crossed with CBT-by-proxy, but it’s sustainable in the long term because they teach you how to do it so you can continue to do it after the sessions end. They withdraw gradually as you build confidence in being able to manage without them.

As far as I can recall it’s the most effective clinical intervention for teens at risk of becoming young offenders, and as your son has already assaulted a teacher it may well be the better option for you now, if your DS behaviour has escalated while your Banardo’s support was in place, rather than improved?

Totally get the not trusting the LA thing, do you have any contact with your local Parent Partnership? They might be able to provide info on how exactly the MST service interacts with council and if the MST team is able to prioritise service users needs over LA internal politics. Parent Partnership may also be able to attend LA meetings with you if you no longer have your family support worker.

Hopefully you’ll find that your local MST team is NHS funded and they just liaise with the LA when teens are out-of-school/needing new educational placements.

MST is a specialist service and they maybe able to help you access some really practical support tailored for particularly challenging situations especially teens who have violent outbursts (eg my local MST team have a 24 hour telephone number to support parents while participating in the intervention).

MST are probably really well-placed to help you through a managed school transfer, as they can assist the new school in setting up a ‘system’ that is tailored for your DS, giving your boy the best possible chance at a fresh start.

(I realise this is a late reply and you may well have made your decisions already but I didn’t want to leave you with an unanswered thread)

Thanks@TathingScinsel , well the Barnardo’s issue was resolved, they pointed out that they were not providing therapy, but there to provide practical support for me ( eg attending meetings with me, and assisting with heavy admin load).

The MST team are working for the LA. My therapist is pleasant enough and I am trying to be positive, but my god it is so mentally draining. For context I am a single parent who works full time, so running on near empty at the best of times. i actually had to lie down after the last session.

The therapist has also visited the school and believed a lot of the crap the told him ( they are desperate to be seen to be meeting need. They aren’t).

I am going to continue for now, but it is starting to feel like another stress/pressure when I’m at my limit anyway. I think I might raise this. Part of me feels like if the LA and CAMHS did their jobs properly the first place I wouldn’t need MST ( I had to wait 4 years for his ASD diagnosis and we are on a waiting list for his ADHD medicine).