Resources
About These Resources
These resources are educational and reflective, not prescriptive. They are offered as optional tools for learning, exploration, and self-reflection. Please engage with them at your own pace and seek appropriate professional support when needed.
I have personally read, listened to, or otherwise interacted with all of the resources listed here and may suggest them as possible options for clients and community members. Inclusion on this list does not imply full endorsement or uncritical support of any author, educator, organization, or perspective.
Knowledge evolves, and so do ethical conversations — particularly in fields related to trauma, sexuality, relationships, and consciousness. If you have concerns, questions, or feedback about any resource listed, I invite you to share that with me. I am committed to ongoing learning and to supporting my clients with the most accurate, informed, and ethically grounded information available.
Trauma, Attachment & Nervous System
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving — Pete Walker A widely used trauma-recovery text focused on complex trauma, emotional flashbacks, inner-critic work, and nervous-system regulation. Especially relevant for individuals whose trauma history impacts attachment, relationships, and self-concept.
Esther Perel (Educator & Author) Known for exploring desire, attachment, power, and relational tension, particularly in long-term relationships. Her work invites nuance and reflection rather than offering step-by-step solutions.
Mating in Captivity — Esther Perel An exploration of the paradox between intimacy and erotic desire in long-term relationships. Challenges cultural assumptions about safety, novelty, and passion, and often sparks productive — though sometimes confronting — conversations.
Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/ An online publication and clinician directory offering articles on mental health, relationships, trauma, and sexuality. Quality and perspective vary by contributor.
The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk
A widely cited trauma text examining how traumatic experiences are stored in the body and nervous system, influencing emotion, behavior, and relational patterns. The book explores a range of trauma-informed modalities and has been influential in shaping contemporary conversations about somatic awareness, healing, and recovery. As with many foundational works, it benefits from being read alongside newer and more explicitly intersectional trauma perspectives.
The Gottman Institute https://www.gottman.com/about/research/ Research-based frameworks for understanding relationship dynamics, communication patterns, conflict, and emotional attunement. Frequently used in couples therapy and relationship education.
Polyamory & Ethical Non-Monogamy
The Ethical Slut — Janet W. Hardy & Dossie Easton A foundational text in consensual non-monogamy that reframes sexuality, desire, and intimacy through consent, honesty, and personal agency. While culturally influential, it reflects the norms and language of its time and benefits from being read alongside more recent, trauma-aware perspectives.
More Than Two — Franklin Veaux & Eve Rickert Originally presented as a guide to polyamory ethics and decision-making, this book is now often discussed critically due to concerns raised about power, consent, and harm. It can be useful when read with discernment and accountability, particularly alongside Eve Rickert’s later reflections.
A Smart Girl’s Guide to Polyamory — Dedeker Winston A conversational, approachable introduction to polyamory that emphasizes self-reflection, communication, and values alignment. Particularly accessible for people new to non-monogamy and those navigating early emotional challenges.
Opening Up — Tristan Taormino An overview of different consensual non-monogamy structures, including swinging, polyamory, and open relationships. Focuses on negotiation, agreements, and communication rather than prescribing a single model.
Multiamory (Podcast) https://www.multiamory.com/ A long-running podcast focused on ethical non-monogamy, communication skills, attachment styles, jealousy, boundaries, and relationship structures. Known for translating research, lived experience, and practical tools into accessible conversations without assuming one “right” way to do relationships.
The Essential Guide to Modern Relationships — Multiamory A practical synthesis of the Multiamory framework, offering tools and concepts for communication, attachment awareness, and relationship design applicable to both monogamous and non-monogamous relationships.
Polysecure — Jessica Fern
A trauma- and attachment-informed exploration of consensual non-monogamy that integrates attachment theory, nervous-system awareness, and relational repair. Polysecure offers frameworks for understanding attachment patterns in polyamorous relationships while emphasizing self-responsibility, emotional regulation, and intentional connection rather than rigid rules or hierarchy.
FetLife https://www.fetlife.com/ A social networking platform centered on kink, BDSM, and alternative sexual communities. Experiences on FetLife vary widely; it can offer community connection and education but also requires strong boundaries, discernment, and self-advocacy.
Psychedelics, Consciousness & Integration
Inner Cosmos (Podcast) — David Eagleman https://eagleman.com/podcast/ A neuroscience-focused podcast exploring perception, consciousness, identity, and the brain’s role in shaping experience.
The Psychedelic Report (Podcast) — Dave Rabin https://www.thepsychedelicreport.com/ Discusses psychedelic research, trauma, mental health, and integration from a medical and therapeutic lens.
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) https://maps.org/ A nonprofit organization conducting and supporting research into psychedelic-assisted therapies, policy reform, and education.
Sexual Health, Desire & Intimacy
Sexology (Podcast) — Nazanin Moali https://sexologypodcast.com/blog/ A sex-positive podcast addressing desire, pleasure, communication, cultural shame, and relational dynamics. Integrates clinical insight with practical reflection prompts.
Ladies, We Need to Talk (Podcast) — Yumi Stynes https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ladies-we-need-to-talk A podcast exploring sex, relationships, identity, power, and culture through interviews and storytelling. Often addresses complex or uncomfortable topics with honesty and curiosity.
After Skool (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/@AfterSkool Short-form animated videos introducing psychological, philosophical, and emotional concepts in an accessible format. Useful as an entry point rather than a comprehensive source. Viewers are encouraged to use discernment and critical thinking, as the content draws from a wide range of perspectives.
Liz Powell (Educator & Author) Powell’s writing and teaching address consent, power dynamics, sexual ethics, and inclusivity in both personal relationships and therapeutic practice, with particular attention to marginalized sexual and relational identities.
Liz Powell — Resource List https://drlizpowell.com/book-resources A curated collection of books and media centered on sex therapy, kink-aware care, and relationship diversity.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF)
https://ncsfreedom.org/
A national advocacy organization dedicated to advancing consent, bodily autonomy, and legal protections for individuals involved in consensual non-normative sexualities and relationships, including kink, BDSM, and consensual non-monogamy. NCSF provides education, incident response resources, and professional guidance addressing stigma, discrimination, and legal vulnerability.
Peer-Reviewed Research
A Multidimensional Evaluation of Intimacy (2022)
M. Sears, L. McMahon, C. Crosby, B. Freihart, & C. Meston — Archives of Sexual Behavior
Examines intimacy as a multi-dimensional construct encompassing emotional, physical, intellectual, and experiential components. Expands how intimacy is conceptualized beyond sexual behavior alone, offering a nuanced framework for relational connection and well-being.
Multidimensional Sexual Perfectionism and Female Sexual Function (2016) Joachim Stoeber & Laura N. Harvey — Archives of Sexual Behavior Investigates how internal and external forms of sexual perfectionism relate to sexual functioning, desire, and satisfaction in women, highlighting how performance pressure and internalized standards can negatively impact sexual well-being.asy.
Human Sexuality: Self, Society, and Culture (2nd ed., 2021) Gilbert H. Herdt & Nicole Polen-Petit A comprehensive human sexuality textbook situating sexuality within cultural, historical, religious, and social contexts. Provides foundational definitions for mononormativity, compulsory monogamy, sexual prejudice, stigma, sexual individuality, and families of choice.
(De)Politicizing Polyamory (2021) Daniel Cardoso, Ana Rosa, & Maria Teresa da Silva — Archives of Sexual Behavior An empirical analysis of how consensual non-monogamy is discussed and politicized in online spaces, highlighting media framing, stigma, hate speech, and political marginalization.
“How Do They Even Know They Love?” (2020) Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer & Wiktoria Chańska — Archives of Sexual Behavior Examines how psychologists, therapists, and sexologists frame polyamory within expert discourse, critiquing professional bias and pathologization of non-monogamous relationships.
Relationship Structure, Relationship Texture (2017) Jenny Kean — Cultural Studies Review A qualitative exploration of how mononormative assumptions shape relationship research, often reducing non-monogamy to a defining feature rather than a relational context.
Internalized Consensual Non-Monogamy Negativity (2021) Amy C. Moors et al. — Archives of Sexual Behavior Applies minority stress theory to CNM populations, demonstrating how stigma and internalized negativity impact mental health and relationship quality.
Responsibility, Respectability, Recognition, and Polyamory (2020) Joseph Obadia — Feminist Studies A theoretical analysis of how polyamory is framed as a lifestyle rather than an identity, affecting legal recognition, social legitimacy, and moral authority.
Queering Marriage (2022) Andrew Maine — Laws Explores marriage through a queer theoretical lens, challenging monogamy as a normative standard and drawing parallels with LGBTQ marginalization.
Emerging Adulthood and Willingness to Engage in CNM (2022) Sarah B. Olmstead & K. M. Anders — Archives of Sexual Behavior Investigates how emerging adults understand and consider CNM, emphasizing the role of inclusive relationship education in reducing mononormative bias.
The Grip of Pandemic Mononormativity (2021) Barbara Rothmüller — Culture, Health & Sexuality Analyzes how crises such as COVID-19 reinforce mononormative expectations through policy, public discourse, and moral obligation.
Resources
About These Resources
These resources are educational and reflective, not prescriptive. They are offered as optional tools for learning, exploration, and self-reflection. Please engage with them at your own pace and seek appropriate professional support when needed.
I have personally read, listened to, or otherwise interacted with all of the resources listed here and may suggest them as possible options for clients and community members. Inclusion on this list does not imply full endorsement or uncritical support of any author, educator, organization, or perspective.
Knowledge evolves, and so do ethical conversations — particularly in fields related to trauma, sexuality, relationships, and consciousness. If you have concerns, questions, or feedback about any resource listed, I invite you to share that with me. I am committed to ongoing learning and to supporting my clients with the most accurate, informed, and ethically grounded information available.