The Essential Enneagram
Description
The First Scientifically Determined Enneagram Personality Test and Guide
A centuries-old psychological system with roots in sacred tradition, the Enneagram can be an invaluable guide in your journey toward self-understanding and self-development. In this book, Stanford University Medical School clinical professor of psychiatry David Daniels and counseling psychologist Virginia Price offer the only scientifically developed Enneagram test based upon extensive research combined with a self-discovery and personal-development guide.
The most fundamental guide to the Enneagram ever offered, this book features effective self-tests to help you find your enneagram type simply and accurately. Daniels and Price provide step-by-step instructions for taking inventory of how you think, what you feel, and what you experience. They then guide you in your discovery of what your type means for your personal well-being and your relationships with others, and they show you how to maximize your inherent strengths. Brimming with empowering information for each of the nine personality types?Perfectionist, Giver, Performer, Romantic, Observer, Loyal Skeptic, Epicure, Protector, and Mediator?this one-of-a-kind book equips you with all the tools you need to know your type and dramatically enhance your quality of life.
This comprehensive self-discovery guide offers evidence-based tools to understand your personality:
- A Scientifically-Validated Personality Test: Discover your type with the only Enneagram test developed through years of research at Stanford University.
- In-Depth Profiles of the Nine Types: Explore the motivations, strengths, and challenges of the Perfectionist, Giver, Performer, Romantic, Observer, Loyal Skeptic, Epicure, Protector, and Mediator.
- A Path to Personal Growth: Go beyond simple labels with a step-by-step personal development guide to maximize your inherent strengths and improve relationships.
- The Universal Growth Process: Learn actionable practices for all types?including awareness, acceptance, and action?to create lasting change in your life.
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Persons
David N. Daniels, M.D. (August 30, 1934 to May 29, 2017) was a world-renowned Enneagram author, teacher, and thought leader, co-founder of The Narrative Enneagram and the International Enneagram Association, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. As one of the founding fathers of the modern Enneagram, David N. Daniels, M.D. brought credence, rigor, and scientific validity to the Enneagram. In 1994, he led efforts to host and sponsor the first International Enneagram Association conference at Stanford University. In 2000, he released a Stanford University based scientifically validated Enneagram test, which still remains the top scientifically validated test today. David N. Daniels is the lead-author of the Enneagram bestseller, The Essential Enneagram (Harper Collins) updated and revised with new material in 2009 and an audio edition in 2025, lead-author of The Enneagram, Relationships and Intimacy published in 2018 and updated in 2025 with co-author Suzanne Dion, and co-author with Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. of Personality and Wholeness 2025. He also co-developed the outstanding DVD, The Enneagram: Nine Paths to a Productive and Fulfilling Life and The Enneagram in the Workplace. In private practice for over 40 years, David also taught the Enneagram system at Stanford University, in the community, and internationally on every continent for 30 years. David brought his knowledge of the Enneagram to individuals, couples and groups, and to a wide range of applications in clinical practice and the workplace. He has developed many innovative workshops, including The Dynamics of Vital Relationships, Anger and Forgiveness, Loss and Grief as Transformers, the Enneagram Gift to Love and Life, Intimate Relationships, Love and Will, and The Enneagram Gift to Mastering Conflict Constructively and Compassionately. His work is being carried on at www.drdaviddaniels.com.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Foreword by Helen Palmer
- Section 1
- Part 1
- What Is The Essential Enneagram?
- The Process of Self-Discovery and Self-Development Using The Essential Enneagram
- Essential Enneagram Test Instructions
- Essential Enneagram Test
- Linking Paragraphs to Types
- The Enneagram Figure
- How to Proceed
- Understanding the Type Determination Pages
- Detailed Explanation of the Type Determination Pages
- Understanding the Type Description Pages
- Detailed Explanation of the Type Description Pages
- Part 2
- Type One
- Type Two
- Type Three
- Type Four
- Type Five
- Type Six
- Type Seven
- Type Eight
- Type Nine
- Summary of Type Discriminators
- How to Confirm and Verify Your Type
- How to Build Self-Understanding
- Section 2
- Part 1
- The Guidelines for Optimal Learning
- Breathing and Centering Steps
- Five General Principles
- Elements of Personal, Professional, and Spiritual Development
- Part 2
- Practices for the Perfectionist (Type One)
- Practices for the Giver (Type Two)
- Practices for the Performer (Type Three)
- Practices for the Romantic (Type Four)
- Practices for the Observer (Type Five)
- Practices for the Loyal Skeptic (Type Six)
- Practices for the Epicure (Type Seven)
- Practices for the Protector (Type Eight)
- Practices for the Mediator (Type Nine)
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- About the Authors
- Copyright
- About the Publisher
