Desire Influences Mapping Tool
Tool for clients and for clinician assessment
The Desire Influences Mapping Tool helps clients and practitioners explore how biological, psychological, relational, and cultural factors interact to influence sexual desire. This reflective framework supports compassionate inquiry into what enhances or inhibits connection - without judgement or pathologising.
Grounded in trauma-informed and intersectional principles, the tool invites awareness across three levels:
- Individual factors such as health, trauma history, self-connection, and life stage
- Relational factors including attachment patterns, communication, autonomy, and shared meaning
- Cultural and systemic influences such as gender norms, minority stress, and representation
By mapping these influences, clients and practitioners can begin to recognise patterns, identify areas for growth, and reframe challenges through a lens of curiosity and self-compassion. The aim is not to “fix” desire, but to understand its ecology - how inner, relational, and societal forces together shape the experience of safety, pleasure, and intimacy.
