Welcome

In this issue

• MST in Australia: The Inala Project
• Announcements from MST Services and MST Institute
• News Briefs from Family Services Research Center at MUSC
• New Publications and Resources
• MST Community Updates and Announcements

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MST in Australia: The Inala Project

The international reach of MST has expanded to Australia with the country's first MST clinical trial. This study is a replication of the MST for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN) study recently completed in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Mater Child and Youth Mental Health Service of Brisbane, Queensland and Department of Child Safety and the Medical University of South Carolina will implement a randomized-controlled trial applying MST to physically-abused youth ages 8 to 17 and their families in the Inala Village, just outside of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.

The Inala Project presents an incredible opportunity for MST in the area of ethnic diversity. "The families participating in this trial represent many different cultures including Vietnamese, the Pacific Islands and people indigenous to Australia," explains Cynthia Swenson, PhD, associate director of Family Services Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina who will help oversee the study. "We are tailoring the MST-CAN treatment model for this specific population and their varied cultural backgrounds."

With funding provided by the Australian Department of Child Safety and psychiatrists Bill Bor, MD, and Brett McDermott, MD, acting as principal investigators, Swenson will be in the country for several weeks this summer to begin recruitment of volunteers for the randomized control trial. "We'll be comparing MST-CAN to an intensive home treatment program," Dr. Swenson says.

The MST Vision Down Under
The Inala Project has a five year history. Events leading up to this study began in 2000 when two Australian doctors acquired a mutual interest into the effectiveness of MST.

In Eastern Australia, researcher and psychiatrist Dr. Bill Bor had a vision for bringing MST to Australia. He visited with Scott Henggeler, PhD at the Family Services Research Center in Charleston and shortly thereafter began speaking with government officials in Australia about MST.

Simultaneously, on the other side of Australia, researcher and psychiatrist, Dr. Brett McDermott had a similar vision for bringing MST to Australia. Dr. McDermott invited Chuck Borduin, PhD from the University of Missouri to Western Australia to present Dr. Borduin's findings on delinquency. Afterwhich, Dr. McDermott began speaking with the community about MST.

In March 2004, a recommendation report (January 2004 Crime and Misconduct Commission Report) on reform for child protection services was presented to the Queensland Cabinet. The cabinet endorsed the report and funding was allocated for system improvement efforts.

In September 2004, Dr. Swenson delivered a presentation on MST and child abuse and neglect in Brisbane. Through mutual MST acquaintances, this visit led to a meeting between Swenson, Bor, McDermott and Erica Lee, the MST administrator for the Inala Project. The result of this meeting would end up being a collaboration of minds, visions and ultimately an agreement to develop and implement the Inala Project.

Lee and McDermott presented the Inala Project to the Australian government and the cabinet agreed to provide funding for the project within 48 hours.

"Indigenous communities have reacted positively to the principles of MST both in New Zealand and Western Australia," explains Lee. "The community-based approach that emphasizes access to services through home, school, and neighborhood consultation and intervention fits with indigenous cultural expectations"

In addition to Drs. Bor and McDermott as principal investigators, other study team members include Helen Stallman, MST supervisor; Erica Lee, MST administrator; and three therapists and a family resource worker. Naamith Heiblum and Marshall Swenson of MST Services played a key role in bringing MST to Australia, as well as Joshua Leblang of MST New Zealand.

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Announcements from MST Services and MST Institute

• MST Services welcomes new Network Partners
  
  Advanced Behavioral Health (ABH) and MST Danmark have joined MST Services as network partner providers.
  
  Advanced Behavioral Health (ABH) based in Middletown, Connecticut supports 25 MST teams and is currently participating in two MST adaptation pilot projects for the state of Connecticut. To learn more about ABH, we encourage you to visit their Web site at http://www.abhct.com/.
  
  In addition to ABH, MST Services is pleased to welcome MST Danmark to the network partner family. Based in Aarhus, Denmark, MST Danmark supports eight MST teams across the country of Denmark. They can be visited on the Web at http://www.mst-danmark.dk/.
  
  Network partners are organizations that represent at least five MST teams, exemplify the highest level of quality improvement and assurance, as well as a commitment to the growth of MST.
  
  
• Naamith Heiblum, PhD has been promoted to manager of network partnerships.
  
  
• Compilation of all MST "videos" is now available on DVD. Copies can be ordered via the product order form located on the MST Services Web site, www.mstservices.com.
  
  

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News Briefs from Family Services Research Center at MUSC

• New MST grant award investigating unsuccessful MST cases: "Differential Response to Evidenced-Based Treatment," Phillippe Cunningham (PI)
  
  
• New MST grant investigating obesity in African-American youth: "Pilot Team: MST for High Risk African-American Youth," - Sylvie Naar-King, Wayne State University (PI); Phillippe Cunningham (Site PI)/Scott Henggeler
  
  
• Connecticut "Building Stronger Families Project" Overview - Cindy Swenson (PI)/Scott Henggeler

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New Publications

The following MST-related publications are available:

261 Schaeffer, C. M., & Borduin, C. M. (in press). Long-term follow-up to a randomized clinical trial of multisystemic therapy with serious and violent juvenile offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Ellis, D. A., Frey, M. A., Naar-King, S., Adams, C., Adams, A., Templin, T., Cunningham, P., & Cakan, N. (in press). Use of Multisystemic Therapy to improve regimen adherence among adolescents with Type I diabetes in chronic poor metabolic control: A randomized controlled trial. Diabetes Care.

Request a copy of a publication

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MST Community Updates & Announcements

New MST Teams
In the second quarter of 2005, these 10 new teams were added to the MST Community:

Nord Jylland	Denmark	1
Black Family Development	Michigan	1
Children's Village	New York	1
Wheeler Clinic	Connecticut	1
Cayuga Home	New York	1
A.Y.S.P	Canada	1
Youth Horizons Trust	New Zealand	2
Savio House	Colorado	1
Mid-Plains Center	Nebraska	1