Multisystemic treatment of violent and chronic juvenile offenders: bridging the gap between research and practice

The lack of communication between researchers and practitioners has hindered the development of effective interventions for children and adolescents. Recently, however, significant headway in bridging this researcher-practitioner gap has been made due to the emergence of multisystemic therapy (MST) as a treatment approach that combines the rigor of science and the "real world" aspects of clinical practice in treating violent and chronic juvenile offenders and their families in community-based settings. MST addresses the multiple known determinants of delinquency and delivers services in the family's natural environment, with considerable emphasis on treatment fidelity. This article describes MST and provides a case example of how MST treatment principles are applied.