Adapting multisystemic therapy to treat adolescent substance abuse more effectively Original Research Article

The article illustrates an adaptation of multisystemic therapy (MST) coupled with community reinforcement plus vouchers approach (CRA) to treat adolescent substance abuse and dependency. Key features of CRA enable the MST therapist and adolescent caregiver to more specifically detect and address adolescent substance use. These features include frequent random urine screens to detect drug use, functional analyses to identify triggers for drug use, self-management plans to address identified triggers, and development of drug avoidance skills. To highlight the integration of MST and CRA in treating substance abusing or dependent adolescents, a case example is provided. Prior to the case example, an overview of clinical and program features of MST and substance-related outcomes is presented.