Personality, IFS, and the Enneagram with Dan Siegel

On today’s episode I chat with Dr. Dan Siegel, renowned author and founder of Interpersonal Neurobiology, and my friend, Joan Ryan, Enneagram expert and educator. We explore the intersection of the Enneagram, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Dan’s Patterns of Developmental Pathways (PDP) model. Our conversation dives into the science behind personality, the pathways that shape our inner worlds, and the ongoing journey toward integration and wholeness.

Dan explains how his PDP model offers a scientific lens to understand personality dynamics, while the Enneagram and IFS provide tools for personal exploration and healing. They discuss how personality acts as a filter. Key Takeaways:

• Personality is a dynamic filter shaped by temperament, experience, and protective strategies.

• The PDP model identifies three core motivational vectors: agency, bonding, and certainty.

• How do the Enneagram and IFS complement each other in helping us explore and integrate our inner worlds?

• Protectors and exiles align with motivational pathways, and how integration allows us to move from survival strategies to thriving.

• Integration invites us to shift from limiting patterns into greater freedom and possibility.

• Wholeness is not about escaping personality but embracing all parts of who we are.

• "Your home base is wholeness. But personality is kind of just a filter that keeps you at times from experiencing that wholeness." – Dr. Dan Siegel

Episode sponsor:  Sentur 

About the Guests:

Dr. Dan Siegel is the Founder and Director of Education of the Mindsight Institute and founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, where he was also Co-Principal Investigator of the Center for Culture, Brain and Development and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine. An award-winning educator, Dan is the author of five New York Times bestsellers and over fifteen other books which have been translated into over forty languages. Learn more about Dr. Siegel at: www.drdansiegel.com | www.mindsightinstitute.com

Joan Ryan is an Enneagram educator and therapist specializing in integrating the Enneagram and IFS for deeper personal growth. https://creativecollaborations.net

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Jeff Schrum co-produces The One Inside Podcast. He is a writer, counselor, and IFS Level 1 practitioner.  

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