In this presentation, we will delve into an interpersonal neurobiology approach on how we become who we are, drawing on developmental neuroscience to illuminate how early temperament intricately intertwines with attachment experiences, forming the foundation of nine distinct patterns of personality. These patterns are shaped by deep motivational forces or “vectors”—agency, bonding, and certainty—that interact with three core tendencies of attentional orientation or “attendencies” : inward, outward, and dyadic (a toggling between inward and outward). Together, these vectors and attendencies lead to adaptive strategies that shape our emotions, thinking, and behaviors that form the basis of personality patterns that sculpt the developmental pathways guiding our lives. 

Program Information

Objectives

1. Describe the interplay of temperament and attachment in the development of personality and human flourishing.    
2. Identify nine Patterns of Developmental Pathways (PDPs) that help illuminate distinct growth-edges for lifelong development.   
3. Explain how an individual’s insights into their own PDP and those of others can give powerful avenues for understanding life journeys and personal relationships illuminating the many ways we can be at risk of burnout and stress.  
4. Outline nine patterns of personality and how these emerge from early temperament and are intensified by non-secure attachment experience.    
5. Discuss how the neuroplasticity of the brain enables clinicians to support clients in reshaping maladaptive personality patterns through targeted interventions at PDP specific growth-edges.  
6. Apply the Patterns of Developmental Pathways (PDP) framework to identify client-specific strategies for fostering emotional regulation and resilience.  
7. Evaluate the influence of interpersonal neurobiology on therapeutic approaches to treating trauma-related constrictions in personality development.  
8. Integrate the understanding of early temperament and attachment stances into the development of personalized treatment plans for diverse populations.  
9.  Demonstrate methods to facilitate client awareness of their own developmental patterns and utilize this insight for therapeutic breakthroughs.  
10. Explore strategies for maintaining clinician well-being by recognizing how PDPs and attachment patterns affect therapist-client dynamics and countertransference.  
11. Differentiate between adaptive and maladaptive expressions of each Developmental Pathway pattern across the lifespan and articulate how contextual and cultural factors shape these expressions.  
12. Be able to understand how developmentally informed interventions that leverage PDP-informed insights to enhance relational capacity, vocational alignment, and overall well-being can support positive client outcomes.

Outline

Why Focus on Personality in Psychotherapy   

• Expand your learning beyond traditional “Personality Disorders”   
• Explore personality patterns emerging from temperament   
• Attachment and how it can lead to a low or high level of each personality pattern  
• Personality patterns, research on temperament, attachment and the Enneagram system   

The Patterns of Developmental Pathways (PDP) Model   

• Neurobiologically informed framework of personality    
• Lifespan model of personality  
• Importance of seeking a sense of “wholeness”  
• How temperament shapes the adaptive strategies underlying personality  
• Role of trauma and attachment relationships   

Integrate Interpersonal Neurobiology Approach  

• Explore the integration of neuroscience into clinical practice to transform personality patterns  
• Apply insights from interpersonal neurobiology to help clients cultivate a sense of well-being and connection  
• Develop strategies to integrate the PDP framework into an interpersonal neurobiology model for effective treatment  

Integrating the PDP Framework into Clinical Practice   

• Outline the nine patterns of personality   
• Assess how these patterns emerge from early temperament and are intensified by nonsecure attachment experiences  
• Utilize PDP to illuminate a client’s distinct growth-edges to move from low to high levels of functioning   
• Help clients use their own PDP as a powerful tool to understand their risk for burnout and stress 

Target Audience

• Psychotherapists
• Counsellors
• IAPT Practitioners
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Social Workers
• other mental health professionals