Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

These are the common questions and answers about Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI)

Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI) provides educators, counselors, therapists, physicians, clergy, healthcare professionals and other professionals with quality, comprehensive sexual health education to better meet the needs of their clients. MSTI consists of 2 entities; one, is a continuing education provider offering a variety of CE workshops, webinars, and specialty certifications in the area of sex and sexuality. The second is a Licensed school offering a Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology. 

 

Our program meets all the educational, supervision, and SAR requirements, for the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the International Board of Sexuality Professionals (IBOSP), as well as Florida’s Sex Therapy title requirements. We offer flexible training options for busy professionals through our state-of-the-art learning management platform. Workshops can be purchased individually for those who are interested in a specific topic or need Continuing Education hours (CEs) for licensure or certification renewal. 

 

Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI) offers certifications in:

  • Sex Therapy Certification
  • Transgender Affirmative Mental Health Care Certification
  • Couples and Sex Therapy Certification
  • LGBTQIA Affirmative Therapy Certification
  • Sexual Trauma Certification
  • Medical Sexology Certification
  • Alternative Relationship Certification
  • Sex Counselor Certification
  • Certificate in Sexual Health
  • Sex Educator Certification
  • Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) Certification
  • Somatic Sex Therapist Certification
  • Neurodiversity Sexuality Professional Certification
  • Sex Informed Therapist Certification
  • Sexually Competent Therapist Certification
  • Kink Conscious Professional Certification
  • Sexual Trauma Informed Therapist Certification
  • LGBTQIA+ Informed Professional Certification
  • Neurodiversity Sexuality Aware Professional Certification
  • Sexual Compulsivity Informed Professional Certification

As mental health professionals, we are always looking for ways and resources to elevate our practice and better serve our clients. We have also all certainly faced a case or time where we’ve felt ill-equipped to address certain presenting or secondary concerns, especially when it comes to sex and sexuality. This is why MSTI has built our certifications and program around the core goal of providing professionals with comprehensive education, increased marketability, credibility, a professional network, and enhanced client care. 

 

More specifically, by doing your certification or program with MSTI, you also gain access to endless professional and community resources, including:

    • Your listing on our website’s “Find a Professional” directory, created and constantly optimized to increase our students’ marketability and visibility to their practice.
  • Events for students and alumni for community and networking (virtual AND in-person!) , 
  • Access to our email listserv AND exclusive membership to our online community group, consisting of hundreds of MSTI students, graduates, faculty and professionals all across the world. These are lively, invaluable networks and hubs to promote your practice, share and request for resources, and collaborate with others!
  • Faculty/supervisor mentorship and support 
  • Learn from and network with THE LEADING EXPERTS in the field

 

This is an excellent question. It is based on your educational and occupational history. In order to be a Certified Sex Therapist, you must be a Licensed Therapist. You can complete requirements pre-licensure. If you are not a mental health professional, you will likely qualify for one of our counselor, educator, or professional certifications. 

 

Please contact us with questions.

MSTI offers courses synchronously (live via Zoom) and asynchronously (recorded on-demand). All course content is available through our state-of-the-art learning management system.

 

When a recorded course is purchased, , the participant will receive an activation email to set their password to access the purchased course. 

 

If an upcoming live course is purchased, the participant will receive an activation email to set their password. A week prior to the live presentation, the participant will receive an email with access to the Zoom link.

 

Course content available on our learning management platform used for CE workshops (www.MentalHealthTrainings.com) includes: 

  1. Syllabus – Description, Learning Objectives, Activity Schedule & Presenter Biography
  2. Course Materials – Video Recording/Zoom Link, PowerPoint, & any additional handouts if applicable 
  3. Course Evaluation, Course Post-Test & Certificate of Completion (to be used for CEs)


To get a better idea of how courses work, check out some of our free classes, some even offer free CEs!

Yes, CE Hours do expire. The amount of time depends on your state or organization.

SAR stands for Sexual Attitude Reassessment. It is an experiential workshop that allows you to explore your feelings, attitudes, values and beliefs reading human sexuality and sexual behavior. Completion of a 14-hour SAR (only offered live via zoom) is a requirement for some certifying bodies like AASECT.

Students must currently have clients and/or cases related to sex and sexuality in order to begin supervision. We can support you in knowing how to advertise differently to attract those clients and what questions to ask current clients to get information regarding sexual function and history. Supervision start will be delayed until this requirement is met. Once a student is ready to begin supervision, they will:

  1. Complete a Supervision Questionnaire that allows us to best match you with an appropriate supervisor in your indicated area(s) of interest or clients you are seeing, scheduling restrictions (if any), and overall program’s supervision requirements. Please do not contact supervisors for availability or requesting they supervise you. MSTI handles all of this on your behalf. 
  2. Supervision Assignment(s) are sent via email at the end of every week. This includes information such as your Supervision contract, requirements*, your supervisor(s) contact information, and instructions on how to schedule supervision.
  3. You will then be contacted by your supervisor within 2-4 business days to begin the process of scheduling supervision*.


*Supervision requirements will vary depending on your MSTI program/certification’s requirements, and whether you are choosing to pursue MSTI, AASECT or IBOSP certification. If a student is choosing to pursue AASECT: Sex Therapists must complete 50 hours of supervision (25 hours of individual, and 25 hours of group) supervision over a minimum of 18 months; Sex Counselors are required to complete 30 hours of supervision (15 individual, 15 group) and Sex Educators complete 25 hours of supervision (5 individual, 20 group) over a minimum of 12 months. If you are strictly seeking MSTI or IBOSP certification (which many choose to do), Sex Therapists are required to complete 20 hours of group supervision, Sex Counselors and Educators are required to complete 15 hours of group supervision).

Modern Sex Therapy Institutes is part of the Advanced Mental Health Training Institute (AMHTI). AMHTI is approved by the American Psychological Association, (APA), American Association of Sex Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the Florida Board of Psychology, and the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling to sponsor continuing education. Most states accept our courses for CE Hours due to our APA providership. You can earn CE Hours for participating in our workshops live or online. Every hour attending a live workshop, webinar, or video recording, will equal one CE credit. Full Institute professionals will receive one certificate for all courses completed at the end of their training. Those purchasing single or weekend workshops receive a certificate with the number of CE hours earned.

AMHTI is approved as a provider of continuing education by numerous national agencies and routinely applies for continuing education credits for professionals from state agencies when needed.

There are many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations that will grant continuing education credit for attendance at AMHTI’s seminars and activities. If you have questions as to whether AMHTI’s continuing education credits will count for your state, please contact us.

The Advanced Mental Health Training Institute is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. AMHTI maintains responsibility for all programs and their content.

The Advanced Mental Health Training Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No.1000. AMHTI is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  • AMHTI is an approved provider with the Florida Board of Psychology Provider#: 50-11996
  • AMHTI is an approved provider with the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling. Provider#: 50-11996
  • AMHTI is an approved provider with the The Florida Certification Board. Provider #5273-A
  • MSTI is an approved provider with the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT). Provider # 07-110-J
  • MSTI is an approved provider with the International Board of Sexuality Professionals (IBOSP).

AASECT Questions:

No! Many students choose to be certified through MSTI. Some students may choose to pursue AASECT or IBOSPcertification, as well but it is not necessary. Both of these organizations are small nonprofit organizations run by a management company and/or volunteers; These organizations are NOT licensing or accrediting bodies. Luckily, the full MSTI certification program meets ALL AASECT requirements (Education, Supervision & the SAR). No extra classes, no extra supervision, and best of all no extra money spent! We meet 100% of certification requirements “in house” and for one price.

Yes! Our full certification programs fulfill ALL AASECT requirements including education, supervision, and SAR.

The minimum timeframe to complete AASECT requirements depends on the type of certification you are applying for as they make the requirements.  

 

  • Certified Sex Counselors (CSC) and Certified Sex Educators (CSE): minimum of 12 months
  • Certified Sex Therapists (CST): minimum of 18 months. 

 

Students must keep in mind, the minimum requirement MUST be met in order to apply for AASECT certification. If you choose to do MSTI certification you can complete it in 12 months.

AASECT’s “in-person” requirement is approved to be met by live via zoom courses, which MSTI provides. Forty-five (45) of your educational hours must be live via zoom. Once registered, participants will receive a coupon code to sign up for the courses being offered live on our Live Workshop Calendar.

Yes, MSTI uses a Student Information System (SIS) to keep track of AASECT categories, hours and requirements, from start to finish. Students are able to access this at any given point to track their progress. As students near the end of their MSTI certification/program, we also support them in preparing their AASECT application by providing one-on-one reviews to ensure all application components are met and we help submit the application. 

Please keep in mind that you are still required to and financially responsible for: (1) maintaining your AASECT membership from the moment you begin your requirements to up until you submit your AASECT application, and (2) your AASECT application fee.

If you want to pursue AASECT certification, you will need to become a member in order to begin counting supervision hours. This means that you must purchase your AASECT membership prior to starting supervision at MSTI and maintain it throughout the entirety of your supervision requirements and timeline. 

MSTI students are required to provide proof of membership in their Supervision Questionnaire prior to starting MSTI supervision, if they have indicated in the form that they are pursuing AASECT membership. (More info in question titled: “What am I required to do before I can start supervision?”)

MSTI has courses categorized based on their AASECT category. You can use our Search by Category engine to find classes in specific categories. All products also have the AASECT category in the description. MSTI does keep track of your courses and if you enroll in our full certification or education only package, we will ensure you meet the requirements.

Sex Therapy Certification Questions:

To apply for the Sex Therapy Certification program, students must:

 

  • While you can begin taking classes before, you cannot be certified until you are Licensed as a mental health professional.
  • Hold a valid state regulatory license or certificate for the state in which the applicant practices, and be able to practice psychotherapy independently, in one of the following disciplines: psychology, social work, counseling, or marriage and family therapy. 

 

If you are in a Master’s degree program in one of the aforementioned disciplines, you can begin working on certification requirements, but will NOT be eligible for certification until you are fully licensed.

Scholarships are offered throughout the year for certification programs. Scholarships are not offered for the Ph.D. program. 

Please follow us on social media for access to when we offer discounts and scholarships. And please email info@modernsextherapy.com for further inquiries and for our scholarship application.

Federal student loans/financial aid cannot be used to pay for MSTI certificate programs. These programs are typically classified as “Continuing Education,” and participants are not considered matriculated college students. As a result, most tuition-based scholarships and loans, including federal student loans, do not apply.

Federal financial aid is not available for the Ph.D., but private loans are an option.

MSTI’s Sex Therapy Certification Program has three (3) main components/requirements: Education, Supervision and SAR.

 

Education:

Educational requirements depend on which certifying body is being pursued. 

 

For MSTI sex therapy certification, participants will complete 150 hours of education. All can be completed asynchronously if you choose but you can also attend live via zoom. MSTI’s certification does not include a SAR and includes 20 hours of group supervision.

 

For AASECT sex therapy certification, participants will complete 150 hours of education (90 hours of Human Sexuality and 60 hours of Sex Therapy Training). Of the 150 hours: 

  • 105 hours will be completed asynchronously, and
  • the remaining 45 hours will be done synchronously (live via Zoom). 

We provide a list of recommended/required courses and you choose the live courses you would like to attend based on our Live Workshop Calendar. 

 

Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR):

Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) is a 14-hour, 2-day workshop that helps professionals in the sexual or mental health field explore their attitudes, values, and beliefs about sexuality. The workshop is experiential and process-oriented, and includes lectures, films, documentaries, guest speakers, activities, and small group discussions. You will only need to take the SAR one time and we offer it twice a year. 

The SAR is only required for AASECT certification.

 

Clinical Case Supervision:

MSTI provides 50 hours of supervision, 25 hours of individual (one-on-one) supervision and 25 hours of group supervision (2-4 students + a supervisor). Supervision is done via Zoom. To begin supervision and get the most out of sessions we require students to have a caseload of clients with presenting issues related to sex/sexuality.


For IBOSP Sex Therapy Certification, participants will complete 150 hours of comprehensive education in the area of human sexuality and sex therapy. Education needs to include a minimum of 50 hours of sex therapy specific courses and a range of topics in human sexuality (to include culture, diversity, and ethics).Students must also complete 50 hours of supervision. Finally, students must maintain their current professional license (or equivalent as an independent practitioner) and maintain IBOSP membership in good standing.

CEs can be applied towards your Sex Therapy Certification; please reach out to an MSTI Administrator directly (via email or LiveChat) for details.

If you’ve already taken a SAR, you have the option to purchase the Sex Therapy Certification Package without the SAR.

However, you will have to provide proof of completion prior to receiving your MSTI certification and/or submitting your AASECT application.

Yes, you are welcome to do supervision outside of MSTI and choose to do our “Education-only” Sex Therapy Certification package.

Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology Questions:

Students who hold a masters degree in a mental health, medical, healthcare, clergy, education or related field are eligible to apply for the MSTI Ph.D. program.

 

Feel free to contact us to discuss your current education and credentials if you are unsure.

 

The Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program is geared for mental health clinicians, educators, clergy, medical and other healthcare professionals professionals who want to further their education and expand their practice and services to help individuals and couples who are dealing with relationship and sexual issues, and who want to achieve an advanced degree.

 

After completion of our Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program, professionals “will be able to offer education, resources, tools, therapy, and techniques they previously could not in order to help clients with their own sexual comfort, expression, functioning, activity, and growth,” reports Rachel Needle, PsyD, Co-Director of Modern Sex Therapy Institutes’ Ph.D in Clinical Sexology program.

 

Students should be prepared to submit the following in their application:

  • $100 Application Fee 
  • Official Transcripts – Applicants must submit an official transcript (in a sealed envelope or electronically) from each college and/or university attended. Transcripts are considered official when they bear an official seal and signature and are sent from the issuing college or university directly to MSTI.
  • 2 Letters of Recommendation – Recommendation letters should be specific to the program you are applying to; be from a Master’s or Doctoral level colleague or a professional person who can speak to your skills, knowledge, and character, be on letterhead when possible, and include an original signature (can be scanned, but a typed name won’t be sufficient)
  • Professional License (if you are licensed) 
  • Government ID, such as a Driver’s License or Passport  
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume

Yes, you will get certified along the way! You will meet 100% of all certifying bodies (AASECT, MSTI, and IBOSP) requirements while in the Ph.D. program (including education, SAR, and supervision). You can meet these requirements for MSTI and Board certification (through www.ibosp.org) after 1 year in the program.

As of January 2025, the total tuition cost is $19,775 when you complete the program within the 2 year time frame. The payment options are: 

  • pay in full, one-time payment of $19,775; 
  • by semester (4 month period), six (6) payments of $3296; 
  • or by month, 24 consecutive payments of $824.  

If you are already a Sex Therapy Certified professional, you are eligible to transfer credits in. The tuition would change as you will complete 1 semester (4 months) less. 

  • pay in full, one-time payment of $16,479.17 
  • by semester (4 month period), six (5) payments of; $3,296
  • or by month, 20 consecutive payments of $824

Our Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program does not currently offer any scholarships.

Yes, the Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program is 100% online. Courses are offered live via Zoom.

All class materials are given to students (PowerPoints, Handouts/Readings). 

 

The following textbooks are recommended, but not required:

  1. Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy
  2. Handbook of Clinical Sexuality

The Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program is designed to be completed in two years, but can be completed in a minimum of one year. Educational courses are completed in the first year. Supervision continues for the first 18 months. While you are required to begin your Dissertation/Doctoral project by the second year, many students choose to and are encouraged to begin the process earlier.

Live/synchronous courses take place once a month on Zoom and our classes are mostly didactic in nature. There is a set and approved comprehensive curriculum for the Ph.D. program which all students complete. You can find this curriculum and the scheduled courses under “Calendar” at the top of the website for your enrolled year. Unless otherwise stated on the calendar, Live Class weekends occur every month (typically on the third weekend unless there is a holiday or conference conflict). These Live Class weekends consist of: Friday and Saturday from 9am to 6pm Eastern, and Sunday from 9am to 1pm Eastern. Additional courses, discussion, and assignments are completed asynchronous.

The majority of our students complete the program within the 2-year timeframe. If you do not complete your Dissertation or Doctoral Project within that time frame, you will need to continue to be enrolled as a student by semester until it is complete.

The Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program requires one SAR for graduation. If you’ve already completed a SAR, you don’t need to retake it, but proof of completion is required.

 

Upon beginning the program, you are automatically enrolled to the first, upcoming SAR offered. The SAR must be attended Live via Zoom and in it’s entirety (14 hours over 2 days). If you are unable to attend this SAR date, MSTI offers two (2) SARs every year. You are only required to attend one throughout the entirety of the program.

If you have met certification requirements already, you will complete one less semester (4 months) of coursework. Instead of attending 12 weekends of didactic educational classes, you will attend 8 weekends of classes. The entire program will be 20-months instead of 24-months.

Course credits can be reviewed individually for potential transfer credit. 

Please email info@modernsextherapy.com for further inquiries.

Classes in the Ph.D. program are live. You do not have access to a recording but must be in class live with your video camera on. You can miss one weekend or the equivalent in hours each semester but will have to make the classes up. Due to the educational programming being only one year, we encourage students to attend live classes.

We offer rolling admission. This means your “cohort” is those who begin within a 4-month period of time.

Modern Sex Therapy Institutes is a licensed school and is not affiliated with any other schools.

Modern Sex Therapy Institutes is a licensed (not accredited) institution. It is important to note that there is currently no specific licensure for the field of sexology; therefore, practitioners will continue to operate under the existing licenses, if they have a license. The Ph.D. conferred by our program is recognized, and many of our graduates hold teaching positions at universities following the completion of the degree.

There is no license in Sexology. You can apply for licensure under your masters degree whenever you meet those requirements.

All courses for the Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology program are live via zoom. Students must attend these courses, and will not have access to recordings. Tuition covers the courses required to obtain the Doctoral degree. Students get a lifetime discount of 15% on all MSTI courses upon completion of the program.

The program’s faculty is incredibly diverse. Students will be exposed to a variety of theoretical and treatment frameworks.

After completing your educational requirements, students may choose to do either a Dissertation or a Doctoral Project. Although they are different (with Dissertations prioritizing research and theory, while Doctoral Projects focus on practical applications in the professional field): we know that both can be daunting to many. 

 

In either case: don’t worry. MSTI offers countless of resources to assist our students:

    • MSTI Directors, Drs. Rachel Needle & Ricky Siegel, offer two (2) meetings a month for Dissertation/DP support. While students in their Dissertation/DP year are required to attend at least one per month, all students are encouraged to attend as many find this to be a useful resource to brainstorm ideas and ask administrative questions. Additional individual student meetings can be set up upon request. 
    • MSTI’s Supervisor of Doctoral Projects (Dr. James Wadley) offers 5 hours a week and MSTI’s Supervisors of Dissertation (Dr. Nicole Prause) offers 10+ hours a week to consult and support our students. For students choosing to do a qualitative research study, Dr. Richard Sprott offers meeting hours upon request. While these meetings are always open to all (we recommend at least once a month), students will decide with their committee members how often you will meet. 
  • LIRN Library & Information Resources Network: Online librarian research support is available Monday through Sunday, providing over 80 hours per week for student assistance.
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB): Modern Sex Therapy Institutes (MSTI) has established an independent IRB, which is an important part of our Human Research Protection Program.

As part of your Dissertation/Doctoral Project, students are responsible for finding their committee members and chair. Students should look for professionals in the field who would be a good fit for their committee and study/research or project. MSTI supports students throughout the process of choosing committee members; students also have access to the following resources to “call for” committee members. MSTI’s: 

  • E-mail listserv,
  • Facebook Community group (private)
  • Alumni database comprised of a variety of professionals and researchers!