Western Australian Department of Health's Multi-systemic therapy (MST) program

• Reach:

  WA

• Focus area:

  Mainstream with Indigenous content

• Status:

  Current

• Evaluated:

  No

Overview

The Western Australian Department of Health's Multi-systemic therapy (MST) program is an intensive family-based intervention for severe behavioural disorders in young persons aged 10-16 years. The program lasts 4 - 6 months and treats behavioural disorders such as conduct disorder, which if left untreated can lead to:

• adult mental health problems
• substance misuse
• criminality
• interpersonal violence
• unemployment
• incarceration
• premature death.

The WA Department of Health introduced the program in 2005 after several years investigation of various national and international evidence-based programs that were hoped to be effective with an identified young sub-population. The MST program is composed of two small teams, each with four clinicians who are primarily young clinical psychologists, as well as an Aboriginal mental health professional. The WA MST program is the first mental health MST service in Australia, and was therefore established with a research component to measure the intervention's effectiveness within an Australian population context, including an Australian Aboriginal population.

Abstract adapted from the Western Australian Department of Health

Contacts

Multi-systemic therapy (MST) program
Western Australian Department of Health
189 Royal Street
East Perth WA 6004
Ph: (08) 9431 3787

Links

• View information: Western Australian Department of Health's Multi-systemic therapy (MST) program: Excellence in Prevention and Community Education
• View website: Western Australian Department of Health