Early in my career, my work with clients was usually based on the prevailing medical or therapeutic model, because that’s all that really existed. Even though I was certified as a Sex Therapist from the Institute in San Francisco, it didn’t feel like enough to serve my clients. 

Honestly, I was so dissatisfied with that approach. I knew that people’s sexual concerns didn’t deserve to be labeled dysfunctions and then dismissed by the mental health or medical professionals from whom they were seeking help!

I had serious doubts that the traditional, pathologizing model was actually effective in helping clients resolve those concerns, especially in the long-term.

That’s when I started developing my unique approach, which filled me with such joy as I saw it—over and over and over again—helping my clients achieve their sexual goals and find the sexual pleasure and joy they’d been missing. 

I call it my MEBES Signature System. MEBES stands for Mind, Emotions, Body/Body Image or Behavior, Energy, and Spirit. It represents the five areas of the sexual self that can become blocked for individuals or relationships, and it provides a repeatable, proven, and effective way of helping your clients work through those blocks to claim their ideal sex life.

Now I’ve got something really special to share with you. 

Over the course of five videos, I’m going to give you a solid introduction to this holistic model I developed for working with clients who show up with sexuality-related concerns. 

Regardless if you ever enroll in the Certified Sex Coach™ training program I developed at Sex Coach U or my latest offering, a 9-month clinical supervision and mentorship small group for sexuality professionals (Britton’s High Achievers Mastermind), THIS free, mini training will give you a solid foundation for learning how to apply my sex positive, holistic, client-centered approach with all of your clients. 

And if you ARE a Sex Coach U student or graduate, these videos will be an excellent refresher, and you may even get a fresh perspective on the concepts.

Watch the video below for the overview of my MEBES Signature System. In subsequent videos, I’ll share more details about each element.

Your clinical work is about to be enriched and your clients will experience more powerful, rapid results.

Transcript:

Hi, I’m Dr. Patti Britton, Clinical Sexologist and the “Mother of Sex Coaching.” I want to spend some time in the next 5 sessions teaching you about my MEBES model or Signature system. And I’m going to show you how mentorship can be the game-changer for your clinical practice and your business. 

One aspect of mentorship on clinical skills is using methodologies that are proven, evidence-based or evidence-informed, and that have endured the test of time with myriad clients. The MEBES signature system does just that. It’s simple, not necessarily easy, and I’m going to deconstruct it for you in the next series of lessons. 

I created the MEBES model way back in 1993, when I needed to explain to my professional peers how I was working as a pioneering sex coach with the vast array of clients I was seeing. I developed it for a presentation I was asked to give, and I defined my approach in the form of a model, which I called MEBES. Sometimes we are doing something that produces the desired result, but do not know the foundation for our methodologies. Later, in 2021 my colleague and I began to unearth the evidence that supports the 5 aspects of MEBES from the perspectives—and research—of both sexology and coaching professions. It’s amazing how solid this methodology really is! 

So, I’m going to show you how this all works. One Step at a time. 

Oh, and by the way, if you are familiar with the work of pioneering sexologist Dr. Gina Ogden, creator of the 4-D approach to sex therapy, you’ll see an overlap of our methodologies. My deceased dear friend Gina and I each happened to create our unique holistic models around the same time, but without the other knowing. How uncanny, right? Her 4-D work is depicted as a wheel, with four quadrants and integration in the center. Her research shows the efficacy of this 4-D model, reflecting some of the same scientific groundwork for MEBES. The MEBES signature system can be viewed in a vertical linear fashion or used in a wheel format. I have often taken clients (or students) and literally “walked the MEBES wheel” to show the dynamics of a circular approach to MEBES—as a paradigm shift for our sexual healing work. 

Using MEBES in Your Clinical Work

Let’s take a look at the context for MEBES for your clinical work:

MEBES is a template that identifies the five primary parts of the sexual self. You can use the MEBES Signature System to conduct your client assessment and then craft action steps to address each area within the five parts that may be stuck, blocked, or not in flow. Most certified sex coaches like to design a complete Action Plan, after conducting their MEBES assessment. They know well, though, that an Action Plan morphs and shifts over time, given the roadblocks their clients face—or the modifications they may need for their clients to achieve sexual wellness.

The idea behind MEBES is that by unblocking all five parts, the person—your client—gets to experience their full potential for a satisfying and joyful sex life. You also can use the MEBES system to self-assess your own sex life or other aspects of life. It is flexible as a motif or template—like an overlay—to see the five primary aspects of where flow may be missing. I often give this to my clients as an intake handout, through which they can identify where they may be stuck or blocked and even what they have tried before or could try to move forward toward their goals. The ultimate goal of MEBES as a clinical tool is to promote flow among the five parts of the sexual self and between partners. 

Fun, right?

Now at Sex Coach U I train all of my students with this model and they discover how meaningful, effective and efficient it is for serving the sexuality-based needs of their clients. If you are a student or grad, watch this lesson with fresh eyes. Each time I teach the MEBES model I add new dimensions. So, open your mind to new ways of applying it. 

I’m going to frame this for you, as a sexuality clinician—or sexological entrepreneur as I like to say—and talk openly about your Mental Realm first.

What Does MEBES Stand For?

Here is a quick overview of what MEBES stands for:

• M for Mind—the thinking self
• E for Emotions—the feeling self
• B for Body/Body Image and Behaviors—the physical self and how we regard it
• E for Energy—what moves everything
• S for Spirit—the essence of self

I’ll go into detail about each of these, one by one.

First, we’re going to look at the M in MEBES; the mental realm.

The mind is often the biggest culprit in shutting down flow.

Be sure to watch the next lesson where I will show you how this Signature System in action can help you to define the stuck parts for your clients and help them overcome or resolve those blockages with curated action steps. It’s going to be wonderful to share this with you.

Don’t skip any of the lessons coming up. See you then.