Creating Success When There is Little Hope
(Multi-Systemic Therapy)

Marcus, a 17-year-old young man, originally diagnosed as Conduct Disorder came to the Multi-Systemic Therapy program with a multitude of challenges. Like many others served by the program, he was referred to us due to behaviors that included verbal/physical aggression both at home and in the community, stealing from home and in the community, and other various inappropriate behaviors. However, this young man’s life was significantly more complicated due to the severity of the behaviors; he had lived in confinement for almost 2 years and prior to that had been expelled from multiple group homes and, as a result, all group homes in the community rejected him because he was unmanageable. The Sacramento County Probation Department had lost hope of any success for this young man. The Sacramento County Probation Department decided to give Marcus one last chance by providing both him and his mother with Multi-Systemic Therapy services.

After his 2-year incarceration, Marcus was released back into the community to live with his mother. He was assigned a clinician who worked very closely with his probation officer to enroll him into a Non-Public School that was able to appropriately address his needs. Once enrolled into school, Marcus’ clinician focused on building a relationship between the young man’s mother and the school. It was through this relationship, as well as thanks to the appropriate school placement facilitated by the clinician and the probation officer that the young man’s behavior dramatically changed. He was better able to control his verbal/physical aggression, stopped stealing and changed some of his other inappropriate behaviors. Since graduating from the MST program, the Sacramento County Probation Department reports that the young man has continued to maintain the positive changes in his life. He even turned his own girlfriend in who was issued an arrest warrant. The explanation he gave for his behavior - he was committed to his progress and would not let negative peers influence him. It was also reported that Marcus was holding a job for a while. The Multi-Systemic Therapy was designed to facilitate success in the lives of youth with the most complicated and hopeless life stories. And many lives turned around, just like Marcus’, prove that.

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5030 El Camino Avenue, Carmichael, CA 95608, (916) 609-5100, fax (916) 609-5160
info@riveroak.org
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