Why Choose MDFT
Families Communicate More Effectively, Function Better Day-to-Day, and Ultimately Grow Closer and Stronger Together
It Works
In 2023, outcomes with youth and families in the United States:
96% of families completed treatment
87% of families eliminated reports of child abuse/neglect
87% of youth stayed living at home
84% reported stable mental health
89% had no new arrests
79% were in school or employed
92% abstained from hard drugs
47% abstained from all substances
It Saves Money
More economical than residential treatment, MDFT significantly lowers a community's costs by reducing hospitalizations, inpatient treatment, Emergency Department (ED) visits, and both short and long-term incarcerations.
It’s a One-Stop Shop
With MDFT you get:
Effective treatment for both mental health and substance use
Individual therapy for youth
Parent sessions for education, support, and change efforts
Family therapy for youth and parents together
Community services and linkages
Significant, life-transformative changes within 6 months
Long-lasting positive effects into adulthood
It’s for a Diverse Population
The most effective substance misuse treatment for a diverse population of youth throughout the United States and Europe.
It’s Flexible
MDFT serves youth with a wide array of challenges and has a welcoming admission criteria. MDFT does not exclude families with domestic violence or parents with substance use or mental health disorders. It broadly defines the “parent/caregiver” role to reflect the variety of family situations and dynamics. See all the various settings MDFT is being implemented here.
It’s Rewarding for Clinicians
High satisfaction ratings from clinicians and agencies. An independent study by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Chestnut Health Systems found that 85% of clinicians said that MDFT gave them the skills to be a better therapist. MDFT allows clinicians to work in a variety of settings, to work with both families and young adults, and to collaborate with non-familial members of the community.
What People Are Saying
“I’m proud to say that Wheeler is approaching our 18th year operating MDFT services across the State of Connecticut. We have experienced significant success with the families and youth who we have served within this program. I can’t say enough about MDFT. It is my favorite, favorite model of all the evidence-based practices we work with at Wheeler, and we work with a lot of them. MDFT is flexible, caring, supportive to the family and youth. MDFT is the ‘go to’ model.”
— Kimberly Nelson, Chief Program Officer at Wheeler Clinic, Connecticut
“One of the misconceptions that a lot of people have about evidence-based models is that they are very cookie cutter and they are not flexible. This is not the case for MDFT. MDFT is flexible. For MDFT it is really an individualized approach based on what the family needs at that point and time. I think that is one of the things that makes MDFT as successful as it is with our families.”
— Jennifer Nadeau, CHR Service Director, Connecticut
“I think the biggest difference between MDFT and some other EBPs is that some of these other EPBs are more strictly about changing the parents and don’t allow for individual sessions with the youth. So in these other models, we weren’t really encouraged to have a relationship with the youth so it was not uncommon for our youth clients to see their therapist as not aligned with them. Obviously, this doesn’t happen with MDFT because for MDFT, alliance with the adolescent is huge and that is a really big difference between MDFT and some other models. In MDFT you are really about creating these more positive emotional experiences between family members that give them hope and inspire them to do things differently.”
— Deena Corso, Juvenile Services Division Director at Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, Portland, Oregon