Troubled Teens Resources

Boarding schools, military schools,brat camps and boot camps are standard and trusted listings in the menu of choices parents have when seeking professional help for their out of control teenagers.

There is also a variety of differing therapeutic programs that are designed to serve the wider community. Some offer a spiritual emphasis, some a militaristic approach, some follow more esoteric or specific treatment models. Some very effective but smaller programs are regional in scope,with little exposure or dissemination outside their immediate area.

Th multi-systemic therapy or MST, available in North Carolina, is an interesting and seemingly less disruptive means of redirecting out-of-control teens, by allowing the troubled teenagers to remain in their homes and schools, yet adhere to a regimen.

“I don’t know where we would have been today without MST,” said her grandmother, whose name is being withheld to protect Aja’s identity. “She was lost in grief, with no role model in her life. She would have been locked up by now.”

Aja’s family is one of more than 90 that have participated in MST since it was established in Bergen County five years ago. Only two other counties — Essex and Camden — offer it.

Those involved say it’s a proven model for dealing with some of the most troublesome juveniles.

“Beginning at age 11 or 12, many of these children get arrested about 25 times before they turn 18,” said Lucien Duquette, director of Bergen County’s Division of Family Guidance.

Unlike detention centers, boot camps or some other youth programs, multi-systemic therapy doesn’t isolate the teens. Rather, it deals with them in their own environment.

Therapists visit the juvenile’s family, relatives, neighborhood and school several times a week, keeping the youths away from undesirable peers and making sure they stay in school. The therapists also help the parents set rules.

It’s a tough job that puts them on call 24 hours a day. Sometimes they respond in the middle of the night, often in unsafe neighborhoods.
[…]
Shortly before Christmas 2005, Aja walked out of her grandmother’s home in the middle of the night following a bitter argument. School officials called the livid grandmother a few days later.

“I told them I don’t want her home,” she said. “I will relinquish custody. Let DYFS take her. Let them take her to [a shelter].”

Both women were skeptical when a therapist from the MST program got involved. But after weeks of interviews, they settled on a plan that included counseling for the grandmother.

“That made me realize how I was grieving myself, and how I was contributing to Aja’s behavior,” the older woman said.

Through several sessions, both learned to control their anger and avoid provoking each other.

Soon, things quieted down. Aja eventually got a part-time job at a local clothing store.

She opened a bank account and obtained a driver’s permit. She stayed in school and out of trouble.

Accepted at six different universities, Aja eventually settled on Livingston College. She now chats with her grandmother by phone three times a day.

“That was our goal in the program, and we certainly achieved it,” her grandmother said.

Aja agreed.

“It’s a great program for someone who wants to change,” she said. “And I wanted to change.”
from North Jersey.com/Kibret Markos