West Midlands councils latest to introduce MST therapy for young people

To reduce the risk of young people going into care or custody Sandwell Council and Dudley Council are introducing a new way of working.

This service is called Multisystemic Therapy or MST for short. It aims to break the cycle of anti-social behaviour by keeping young people safely at home, in school, and out of trouble.

MST is an intensive family and community based intervention for children and young people aged 11-17, where young people are at risk of out of home placement in either care or custody due to their offending or having severe behaviour problems.

MST therapists work with families and design a plan to help young people. They use approaches such as behavioural therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and structured family therapy to work with young people and their families.

This new approach is designed to get to the root of the problem that’s causing young people to behave badly rather than just repeating the cycle of punishment for bad behaviour or re-offending.

Sandwell Councillor Simon Hackett, cabinet member for children’s services said: “This approach has been used by other councils across the country and evidence shows it has worked.

“That’s why we’re excited to be introducing the MST service across Sandwell and Dudley.

“The new service is not only designed to keep young people safe and at home but also helps them to keep out of trouble with the police.”

The service will be launching on today and specialists have already identified some of the families they will be working with.