MST for Problem Sexual Behavior works with young people engaging in inappropriate sexual behaviour

The sexual behaviour of young people is often difficult to fathom, even more so when that behaviour harms someone else. Estimates suggest that nearly a quarter of reported cases of child sexual abuse are committed by an individual younger than 18. Victims are often younger than the perpetrator and known to them, either as a family member or family friend.

This month's EIF newsletter includes a case study on MST in Manchester, click here to read more about Manchester's story...

Multisystemic therapy for family integrated transitions (MST-FIT) helps young people aged 11 to 17 return to the family home from residential care.

The study aimed to:

• identify the issues in implementing MST-FIT
• determine whether it is a feasible intervention
• identify other groups for whom it may be suitable

Click here to read the report

But what are “cultural issues”? 

I got the “cultural issues” advisory with a new case. The social worker described the girl’s poor behaviour as “very cultural.” Whatever that meant. So, alongside the usual startup work, I set out to find how her background might be driving her actions and poor choices.

A bit of background 

DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES TO ENGAGE FAMILIES

Her relationship with her 14-year-old son had broken down. She argued with her own parents because they had different parenting styles, and she felt like she could no longer go to them for needed support. Most of all Mum was scared. It seemed as if it was too late to turn things around, no matter what she did. Mum was convinced that she had lost her son. She was convinced rules, consequences and rewards would only make things worse. 

What was she to do?

An MST Champion Does Whatever it Takes 

Sometimes, it takes a leap of faith. Sometimes, it takes several.

Two years ago, Wigan (a large, former mining town in the north of England) had lots of hard-working and innovative services, but not Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Wigan took a leap of faith and commissioned its first MST team to work with complex cases on the edge of care.

Sometimes the key to engaging a family is knowing where they come from...

Four teams - two from Edinburgh and two from Fife - have been improving outcomes for families with children on the edge of care and police custody for a number of years and we are looking forward to working together to help more young people and their families across the UK.

This mother had lost all hope, but then she met her MST therapist, Lauren Skeels (MST Therapist at the Northamptonshire South team)

Please click here to view the short film about MST in the UK

You can now review and comment on this draft guideline - for more information, please visit the NICE website.

The consultation closes on 19 April 2017 at 5pm.

Study finds one in 60 children taken into care in most deprived areas compared with one in 660 in the wealthiest.

The English and Romanian Adoptee (ERA) project is a longitudinal, multi-method investigation, initially led by Michael Rutter (Rutter et al, 2007). The Lancet has now published a follow-up study of this work (Sonuga-Barke et al, 2017), which presents data from this same cohort of Romanian children but now in their young adulthood (22-25 years). 

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) has been commissioned by the Department of Health to manage an ambitious project to improve the experiences of looked after children and young people, care leavers and children adopted from care with mental health and wellbeing difficulties.

The overall aim of the project is to ensure that the emotional wellbeing and mental health needs of children and young people in care, those adopted from care or under a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), and care leavers are better met.