As a gender specialist and sex therapist, I know that people crossdress for many reasons.    For some, crossdressing is a way to express an essential aspect of their identity.  Other crossdressers do not have any sense of being another gender, but have a special relationship with male or female clothing or items of clothing.   

Over the course of a lifetime the desire to crossdress can go up and down in cycles.  People often seek counseling when this desire becomes so intense that it distracts them from other responsibilities; when it creates conflicts in their relationships; or if they are questioning the meaning of the crossdressing in their lives.