The Court Assessment & Treatment Team provide mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment services to youth involved with Henrico Court Services. This team works closely with our Juvenile Court liaison, who serves as a contact person for all youth and adults who have been court-ordered to Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services. Services offered include:
Individual or family appointments for initial assessment or court-specified evaluation (1-3 sessions).
MULTISYSTEMIC THERAPY SERVICES – serving court-involved youth ages 11 through 17
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an evidence-based practice, with extensive statistical data to prove its effectiveness for treating youth with significant behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiant behavior (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). MST is a family and home based treatment that focuses on improving youth functioning in their natural settings – home, school, and community. MST is designed to be a comprehensive intervention that focuses on all of the systems which impact a youth’s life. For this reason, individual and group therapy are not recommended as adjunct services during the time a youth is receiving MST.
MST Treatment Principles:
- Partner with families by identifying strengths, developing natural support systems, and removing barriers that interfere with their capacity to function effectively as parents.
- Promote positive social behaviors while decreasing antisocial behaviors.
- Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, with weekly renegotiation of strategies as needed to achieve successful outcomes.