Meet David Daniels MD, one of the founding fathers of the modern Enneagram.
Read MorePatterns of Developmental Pathways with Dan Siegel, MD and the PDP Group.
Learn MoreThe Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition, mastering the "Panel Method."
Getting StartedEnjoy a collection of educational articles and essays written by David over the years.
View ArticlesThoughtful and hearftelt personal development, with nine paths to wholeness.
Learn MoreLearn why David became such a fervent teacher of the Enneagram, a psycho-spiritual system of personality.
Learn MoreWorking with both EPP Ambassadors and Guides in training, bringing the Enneagram to diverse populations.
Learn MorePresenting at conferences annually, developing students and teachers worldwide.
Learn MoreThe Essential Enneagram, David's first Enneagram book, first published in 2000.
Learn MoreThe "Enneagram Intensive," the Palmer-Daniels flagship training program.
Learn More
Meet David Daniels and his Passion for the Enneagram
Quick Tips for Each Enneagram Type
A Brief Overview of the 9 Enneagram Types and Quick Tips for Development Since the Enneagram is about the internal structure of our inner world, self-discovery is key. It's important to understand when learning a system like this one that we are human beings whom have been structured by various patterns of being, aka a “type,” which represents both our temperament as well as its various adaptive strategies.
Carrying his legacy forward...
About the David Daniels, MD Enneagram Website
Honoring a clinician and psychiatrist, a Stanford professor, a teacher and a trainer, a founder and an author, a devoted thought-leader and heartfelt humanitarian. David Daniels compassionate vision for the world lives on.
The Enneagram is a Globally Recognized System
Enneagram Books
Some Interesting Enneagram Stats 11.01.2024
1,254,680
Enneagram Internet Searches per Month
9,280
Enneagram Google Scholar Results per Month
50,000
Individual Enneagram Narratives
3,768
Enneagram Books
Published
Heartfelt Wisdoms
Thoughts from David
David Daniels, MD
The understanding of self and other is the key to my very personal, societal, and humanitarian dream."
David Daniels, MD
Openhearted communication stirs our emotions, which opens us up to sharing and receiving vulnerably."
David Daniels, MD
There is nothing more important than self-awareness and self-understanding to bringing peace and compassion to our relationships and to our world."
Enneagram Organizations Co-founded by David
Both of the Enneagram organizations that David co-founded now surpass 30 years since inception. The Narrative Enneagram, formerly known as The Palmer-Daniels Enneagram Professional Training Program certifies Enneagram practitioners worldwide.
25th AnniversaryThe Essential Enneagram
Co-authored with Virginia Price, PhD, this book contains the scientifically validated Enneagram paragraphs test for Enneagram type self-identification.
Just Released Nov 2025Personality and Wholeness in Therapy by Daniel Siegel, MD
Personality and Wholeness in Therapy: Integrating 9 Patterns of Developmental Pathways into Clinical Practice is authored by Daniel Siegel, MD with the PDP Group (in alphabetical order): Laura Baker, PhD, David Daniels, MD, Denise Daniels, PhD, and Jack Killen, MD.
The authors seek to bring the profound knowledge of the Enneagram to science within a developmental model, leaning into Interpersonal Neurobiology and the importance of early temperament and attachment to personality development.
A more comprehensive articulation of how the patterns of developmental pathways express can be found in The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy authored by David Daniels, MD and Suzanne Dion.
Updated Edition 2025!The Enneagram, Relationships, and Intimacy
Co-authored with Suzanne Dion, this is a book David cared so much about writing. Falling in love is what everyone dreams of. Sustaining that love is the deal-breaker. We can’t sustain something we don’t fully understand, that we don’t know how to nurture, or that we don’t know how to develop and grow. A mix of both modern science and ancient wisdom, view how David uses the Enneagram and the Patterns of Developmental Pathways together so that you can learn more deeply about yourself and others.
Links to three articles on the Holy Ideas
Personal Development with the Enneagram
The Enneagram’s 9 Holy Ideas, the 9 Fundamental Patterns of Human Wholeness
David recognized and utilized the Holy Ideas of the Enneagram in the self-development and therapeutic journey. Not only does the Enneagram identify nine personality patterns, it also reveals nine corresponding patterns that underlie unity. David often utilized Higher Capacities, Essential Spiritual Qualities, and Enneagram Essence when referring to the Holy Ideas (the higher mental or cognitive capacity) and Virtues (the higher heart or emotional capacity).
The Holy Ideas, what does this mean? Holy is an English word derived from the old English word, Hal or Whole. Idea is a word from the Greek concept of a pattern that underlies all external manifestations and that which is always present and unchanging. Holy Ideas equals Fundamental Patterns of Human Wholeness.