The Catalyst Podcast

Transforming Lives: Inside MDFT's Family-Centered Approach to Youth Recovery

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We’re joined by Melissa Sienna, Executive Director of MDFT International (Multidimensional Family Therapy), and by Sandra Arguelles, National Trainer, also with MDFT International. MDFT transforms lives through family-centered treatment for youth struggling with mental health and other challenges, including 

  • Substance Misuse
  • Mental Health
  • Crime & Delinquency
  • Antisocial & Aggressive Behaviors
  • School & Family Problems
  • Emotional Difficulties

    • MDFT has more than 30 years of rigorous research that proves its efficacy, and the widespread adoption of MDFT demonstrates its feasibility. Today, clinicians implement and sustain MDFT programs in over 150 public and private settings throughout the U.S. and Europe. We discussed:


    • The MDFT for OUD program: the gaps in care that it was created to address, how the program’s enhanced training, overdose protocols, and medication access differ from standard MDFT approaches. 
    • The Connecticut Demonstration Project, a pilot study/program evaluation involving participants aged 15 to 19 diagnosed with OUD. They tell us about the methodology and their findings. 
    • Plans to expand the program beyond the 6 sites statewide it is currently in.  
    • MDFT’s history of partnering with LI in working with the GAIN (Global Appraisal of Individual Needs) and the most significant outcomes achieved through their collaboration. 
      • ...more
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