Welcome to "In the Loop"

In this issue

• Network Partner Workshop Set for Hilton Head, SC
• 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

Network Partner Workshop Set for Hilton Head, SC

After much consideration and feedback from many of our network partner organizations, we are pleased to announce that the Fall 2006 Network Partner Workshop will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The workshop is scheduled for October 18-19, 2006.

For information, contact Joe Boggs at joseph.boggs@mstservices.com
Hotel registration deadline is September 12. Call (800) 334-1881 to reserve your room at the discounted rate of $139/night. For information about Crowne Plaza, visit www.cphiltonhead.com.

Announcements from MST Services and MST Institute

MST would like to welcome Evidence Based Services (EBS) as its newest Network Partner organization. Jeff Randall and Phillippe Cunningham are the founding members of EBS. Jeff is currently serving as both president and system supervisor for EBS.

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Keller Strother and Marshall Swenson, the first employees of MST Services, have received 10-year service awards. The awards were presented during a dinner cruise in Charleston, South Carolina, to celebrate MST Services' 10th anniversary on May 13, 2006.

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Laura Shortt and Jon Steinmetz have joined MST Services as MST consultants.

Laura is based in Clarksville, Tennessee, and joined MST Services in June 2006. Laura enjoys learning, growing, and living life for every moment. Laura began working in the field implementing MST as a therapist in 2002 and began supervising MST clinicians in 2004. Laura received her master's degree in community counseling in 2005 from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where she is currently pursuing her doctrate in education in counselor supervision and development.

Jon graduated from Columbia International University in 1987, and served as a summer camp director and instructor with Torchbearers in Texas. In 1994, Jon completed his master's in counseling at Colorado Christian University. He worked in dual-diagnosis residential for adults, then youth and families in after-care case management, family preservation and service utilization review for children in social services custody. In 1999, Jon joined University of Colorado Hospital providing home-based family therapy, supervising the high intensity treatment team and supervising the MST team for four years. Jon joined MST Services in July 2006.

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Courtney Benton has been promoted from receptionist to office manager at MST Services. Courtney has been an associate with MST since January 2006 (although she has worked part-time off and on for MST for the past several years). She graduated from the College of Charleston cum laude with a bachelor of science in business. She speaks Spanish fluently and loves to spend her free time going to the beach, hanging out with friends, and spending time with the number one girl in her life, her six-pound Yorkie Poo, Lily.

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Erin Lynch joined MST Services, replacing Courtney Benton, as receptionist in July 2006. She is a graduate of Anderson College with a bachelor of arts in human services and is a native of the small town of Greer, South Carolina, where she was raised by two amazing parents and has two equally amazing sisters. She loves going to the beach, spending time with friends and family, and searching for Mr. Right. The greatest love of her life is her adorable nephew, Pace, and she enjoys every second of being an aunt.

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The MST Institute Web site is currently undergoing a new design and login criteria. Upon launch, the new home page will require users to login with their e-mail address. Stay tuned for more details. If you have questions about the MST Institute Web site, please contact Molly Brunk at molly.brunk@mstservices.com.

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The Supervisor Orientation offered by MST Services has been revised to help strengthen the initial training process for new MST supervisors. Some of the enhancements include separating the overview into two parts. For MST Network Partner organizations, an overview of the new process and material will be available through the MST Services' Web site via the Network Partner portal in the coming weeks. Questions about this program revision can be directed to Lisa Reiter-Lavery at lisa.reiter-lavery@mstservices.com.

News Briefs from Family Services Research Center at MUSC

Substance Abuse Treatment Update

By: Scott Henggeler, PhD
Family Services Research Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina

Several randomized clinical trials have shown that MST is an effective treatment of adolescent substance use, abuse, and dependence - when integrated into juvenile drug court or provided independently. Youths in MST treatment conditions, in comparison with counterparts receiving alternative services, have demonstrated reduced substance use, decreased criminal activity, improved mental health symptoms, increased school attendance, and reduced rates of out-of-home placement. Moreover, in separate studies, MST has been shown to reduce drug use and drug related crimes at 4- and 14-year follow-ups.

In light of these favorable outcomes, research attention has begun to focus on testing strategies for further enhancing the effectiveness of MST in treating substance abuse and on determining the conditions needed for the effective transport of MST and other evidence-based treatments. Studies to enhance substance use outcomes are focusing on the integration of contingency management (CM), a compatible evidence-based treatment of substance abuse, into treatment protocols of both substance abusing youths and substance abusing caregivers. Transportability studies are examining: mechanisms for developing CM competency among MST therapists, the predictors of therapist adherence and youth outcomes for substance abusing youths in MST programs, and the transport of CM protocols to non-MST treatment sites. The adaptation of MST to outpatient substance abuse treatment delivery is also being examined. Future substance-related research will be focusing on preventing HIV transmission, developing vocational skills among substance abusing youths in MST programs, and integration of evidence-based services into juvenile drug courts. Hopefully, this research will enhance MST outcomes and inform the transport of other evidence-based practices to community settings.

Please see the FSRC Web site for our current research portfolio and extant publications pertaining to substance use and abuse. Publication #281 provides a concise overview of this work.

New Publications

The following MST-related publications are available:

• 264 Ogden, T., & Hagen, K.A. (In press). Multisystemic therapy of serious behavior problems in youth: Sustainability of therapy effectiveness two years after intake. Journal for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
• 267 Ellis, D.A., Frey, M.A., Naar-King, S., Templin, T., Cunningham, P.B., Cakan, N. (in press). The effects of multisystemic therapy on diabetes stress in adolescents with chronically poorly controlled type II diabetes: Findings from a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics.
• 270 Henggeler, S.W., Halliday-Boykins, C.A., Cunningham, P.B., Randall, J., Shapiro, S.B., Chapman, J.E., (In press). Juvenile drug court: enhancing outcomes by integrating evidence-based treatments. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34(4), 658-670.
• 280 Henggeler, S. W., Sheidow, A. J., & Lee, T. (in press). Multisystemic treatment (MST) of serious clinical problems in youths and their families. In A. R. Roberts & D. W. Springer (Eds.), Forensic social work in juvenile and criminal justice settings: An evidence-based handbook (3rd ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
• 281 Sheidow, A. J., & Henggeler, S. W. (in press). Multisystemic Therapy with Substance Using Adolescents: A Synthesis of the Research. In N. Jainchill (Ed.), Understanding and Treating Adolescent Substance Use Disorders. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute.
• 292 Cunningham, P.B., Randall, J., Henggeler, S.W., Schoenwald, S.K. (2006). Multisystemic therapy supervision: A key component of quality assurance. In T. Kirby Neill (Eds.), Helping Others Help Children: Clinical Supervision of Child Psychotherapy (pp. 137-160). American Psychological Association: Washington, DC.
• 293 Sheidow, A. J., Schoenwald, S. K., Wagner, H. R., Allred, C. A., & Burns, B. J. (in press). Predictors of Workforce Turnover in a Transported Treatment Program. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research.

To request a copy, or for more information, click here

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• Taking Charge: An Introductory Guide to Choosing the Most Effective Services for the Mental, Behavioral, and Emotional Health of Youth Within a System of Care
  This guide provides a "roadmap" or path to help youth and families move through the process of seeking help. It is not meant to be a stand-alone document; rather, it is one tool among many designed to help youth and families become better partners with their mental health providers in deciding the best course of treatment. The guide gives examples of the emotional and behavioral disorders that are most commonly diagnosed in adolescents and provides an overview of the various intervention options available. The guide closes with a vignette (an example scenario) presenting a conversation that could take place between a family worried about their child abusing substances and a health-care provider.
  Download as PDF
• Road Ahead: Research Partnerships to Transform Services
  A report by the National Advisory Mental Health Council's Workgroup on Services and Clinical Epidemiology Research, May 2006.
  Download as PDF.

MST Community Updates & Announcements

Welcome New MST Teams
Teams added between 4/1/06 and 6/30/06

Larimer MHC	CO
Genessee County	MI
Family and Youth, Inc.	NM
OCFS / ACS - Manhattan	NY
ACS Team 1 - New York City	NY
Indiana County	PA
Warren County	PA
Bever County	PA
Union County	PA
TX: MHMR - ARPS Team	TX

Has someone recently joined your team or been promoted? If so, share your news with the MST community. Send your news to intheloop@mstservices.com.