START EEG
Several longitudinal studies have linked Conduct Disorder (CD) and life-course persistent antisocial behaviour with poor life outcomes.
However, effective therapy options available to adolescent externalisers limited, and these interventions have demonstrated mixed effectiveness.
One promising intervention is Multisystemic Therapy. Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an intensive, short-term therapy aimed at reducing the likelihood of out-of-home placements and reoffending.
During MST, the therapist meets with the young person and their family several times a week, implementing interventions to improve the systems that make up the young person’s home, school and social settings.
Whilst several studies in American and Norwegian samples have produced results supporting its efficacy in reducing recidivism, no work has been conducted investigating how MST may alter neural systems known to be related to externalising behaviour, such as empathy, inhibition, and reward processing. By investigating how changes occur in neural systems related to these behaviours we may better insight of the neural mechanisms underlying MST.