Personality and Wholeness in Therapy : Integrating 9 Patterns of Developmental Pathways in Clinical Practice

A new way to consider patterns of personality, with the combined application of neurobiology and traditional wisdom.

Personality and Wholeness in Psychotherapy applies the perspective of interpersonal neurobiology to a traditional wisdom framework widely known as the Enneagram of Personality. This framework describes a lifespan developmental personality model of nine distinct, key strategies that people use to make sense of and cope with their experiences and interactions with the world. These strategies can be understood as nine Patterns of Developmental Pathways, or PDPs.

This book provides mental health practitioners with both a theoretical understanding of PDPs and practical tools for implementing the framework in clinical settings. Readers will find detailed descriptions of the nine core patterns of personality as well as integrative practices specific to each of these patterns that can help people work towards states of well-being and wholeness. This innovative book has the potential to unlock deep and lasting change in problematic and perplexing patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, transforming personality from a prison to a playground for readers and clients alike.

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Noted neuropsychiatrist Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine, and executive director of the Mindsight Institute in LA. He is founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

The PDP Group, or Patterns of Developmental Pathways Group, was formed in 2004 with the goal of bringing the profound knowledge of the Enneagram to science through a developmental model. The group in alphabetical order includes Laura Baker, Ph.D. David Daniels, M.D., Denise Daniels, Ph.D. Jack Killen, M.D. and Daniel Siegel, M.D. Together the PDP Group spans the fields of the Enneagram, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Medicine. More specifically, the group has expertise in affective neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, transpersonal psychology, AI and data science, contemplative and mystical traditions, and mind-body-based practices including meditation, breath, and yoga.