Multi-Element Behaviour Support:
Putting PBS values into practice
PSG has partnered with the IABA Research and Education Foundation (IREF) as its Centre of Excellence for MEBS Service Delivery and Implementation, and its authorised provider of MEBS training across the UK and Europe.
Book the free webinar ‘Exploring the Multi-Element Behaviour Support (MEBS) model’
Our partnership with IREF
MEBS has been at the heart of PSG from the start, shaping both how we support people and how we train our own staff. Twenty years ago, our founder, Sarah Wakeling, first worked with IABA and was inspired by support that helped people develop skills, exercise choice, make their own decisions and live the lives they wanted. When she returned to the UK, she set out to recreate those outcomes, and that ambition became one of the foundations of PSG. Our partnership with IREF, the education foundation of the Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis, deepens and formalises that way of working.
“We should never lose sight of the fundamental principle that people have the right to make their own choices, develop as human beings and live meaningful lives.” Sarah Wakeling, Founder and Chief Executive, PSG
The partnership allows us to:
strengthen MEBS practice and implementation across our own services
offer MEBS learning to practitioners and organisations across the UK and Europe
work with IREF’s international network of MEBS Centres of Excellence, sharing learning and helping the model continue to develop
What is MEBS?
Multi-Element Behaviour Support is a structured and rigorous model for delivering Positive Behaviour Support. It gives practitioners a clear framework to:
understand the person and the context of their life
design comprehensive, person-centred support
put that support into practice
check that it is being delivered as intended
Its elements work together rather than as a menu to choose from. They cover changes to the person’s environment, the development of skills, focused support strategies and planned, non-aversive responses to behaviours of concern.
MEBS draws a clear line between proactive strategies, which build a better life, and reactive strategies, which keep everyone safe in difficult moments. It also recognises that support works through the people around the person: the families, support staff and teachers MEBS calls mediators. It gives them a practical framework they can understand and use every day.
MEBS was developed at IABA by Dr Gary LaVigna and Dr Thomas Willis. It was part of the move away from approaches that relied on punishment and helped shape the early development of PBS. It continues to shape the move towards ever more person-centred and rights-based approaches in PBS, giving individuals and organisations a structured, quality-assuring model that is internationally established and backed by a substantial body of research. partnership with the IABA Research and Education Foundation".
Why MEBS?
A structured model for PBS - MEBS takes practitioners from assessment through to support, implementation and review, across the different settings of a person’s life.
Comprehensive and holistic - Its elements address the full range of things that may need to change or be strengthened in a person’s life, so that support is genuinely comprehensive and holistic.
Evidence-base - MEBS is supported by decades of published research on a clearly defined model, and by decades of clinical practice in the UK and internationally.
Quality-assuring - It sets out the essential components of comprehensive, person-centred support, so crucial steps are less likely to be missed.
Periodic Service Review - A systematic way to check that agreed support is being delivered, supporting reflection, coaching and improvement. It shows that we do what we say we do.
Focused on quality of life - MEBS asks what needs to be built, not only what needs to reduce: environments, skills, relationships, experiences and opportunities. This reflects the wider development of PBS, which increasingly focuses on co-production and person-centred, holistic support.
Person-centred and rights-based - Goals are grounded in what matters to the person, with choice, participation and co-production built into everyday support
Why now?
PBS has moved towards a stronger focus on quality of life, human rights, self-determination, co-production and reducing restrictive practice. MEBS offers a structured, quality-assured way of turning those principles into everyday practice.
Your MEBS learning pathway
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Step |
What is it? |
When |
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A free 60-minute introduction. Jessica Aviles, Chief Clinical and Quality Officer, opens; Sarah Wakeling, PSG’s founder, tells the story of PSG and MEBS; and Gina Karlberg, Learning & Development Analyst and MEBS Trainer, explains the model in more depth |
Tuesday 3rd November, 2pm, online |
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An introduction to the model and its core elements, delivered by PSG |
First delivery Thursday 26th November 2026 |
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In-depth application of MEBS across assessment, support design, implementation, evaluation and practitioner development. |
Dates to be announced |
We also offer in-house training for teams and support for organisations implementing MEBS. Talk to us
Book the free webinar ‘Exploring the Multi-Element Behaviour Support (MEBS) model’
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Practitioners and organisations across Positive Behaviour Support, including support workers, team leaders, PBS specialists, psychologists, nurses, therapists, managers and educators.
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MEBS is a model for delivering PBS. PBS is a broad term that covers many approaches; MEBS is a clearly defined model with its own body of research.
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MEBS was developed by IABA, but it is non-aversive and person-centred. It does not use punishment or compliance training, and it focuses on quality of life and human rights.
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We work across the UK and Europe.
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Register for the webinar, or email us
Partner strip
In partnership with the IABA Research and Education Foundation