Crime & Delinquency Outcomes
“By the time they get to us, the parents are at the end of their rope. They believe they have tried everything. And sometimes it takes a little coaxing on our part to tell them ‘no you haven’t tried everything. Here is one last thing.’ I ask them to tie a knot at the end of their rope and dangle a little while longer, because the cavalry is coming. The therapists in MDFT bring and incorporate the entire family. It gives them the opportunity to develop resources and tools for themselves because the drug court team will not always be with them but the family will.”
— Honorable Orlando Prescott
Chief, Juvenile Court Judge
State of Florida 11th Judicial Circuit Court
MDFT decreases crime and delinquency significantly more than standard treatments and has been successfully studied and implemented in juvenile justice settings.
The National Institute of Justice has given MDFT its highest possible rating for efficacy
Canada’s National Crime Prevention Centre and the Dutch Youth Institute recognize MDFT as an effective intervention for juvenile delinquency
MDFT in Randomized Clinical Trials
MDFT in the Community
What People Are Saying
“MDFT is an effective treatment to prevent and reduce criminal offending.”
— Van der Pol, et al., 2017
“Multidimensional Family Therapy was associated with fewer felony arrests and less substance misuse at 24 month follow-up in comparison to adolescent group therapy.”
— Ledgerwood & Cunningham, 2019
Want to learn more?
Sources
Liddle, H. A., Rowe, C. L., Dakof, G. A., Henderson, C. & Greenbaum, P. (2009). Multidimensional Family Therapy for early adolescent substance abusers: Twelve month outcomes of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77(1), 12-25. doi: 10.1037/a0014160
Dakof, G.A., Henderson, C., Rowe, C.L., Boustani, M., Greenbaum, P.E., Wang, W.,... Liddle H.A. (2015). A randomized clinical trial of family therapy in juvenile drug court. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(2), 232-241. doi: 10.1037/fam0000053
Schaub, M. P., Henderson, C. E., Pelc, I., Tossmann, P., Phan, O., Hendriks, V., ... Rigter, H. (2014). Multidimensional Family Therapy decreases the rate of externalising behavioural disorder symptoms in cannabis abusing adolescents: Outcomes of the INCANT trial. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 26.