Scientific Study of the Enneagram as a Vehicle for Personal Change
David Daniels fully appreciated the spiritual history and tradition of the Enneagram. In addition, his background and training came from a scientific tradition—medical school. As such, he aimed to take the Enneagram beyond “face validity” (a process that appears to be effective in terms of its stated aims). He was devoted to seeing the Enneagram be scientifically verified as a method for substantive, personal change. One of the reasons he was so passionate about this personality typology was seeing how extraordinary the Enneagram could be towards facilitating personal growth.
Individuals suffering emotional distress could find a path to their version of healthy, and those intent on further growth could pursue transformative change. David observed the benefits of the Enneagram for psychological and emotional change, both in his psychiatric private practice and in the countless Enneagram workshops he co-lead nationally and globally where attendees often expressed experiencing rapid personal growth.
1) Development of an Enneagram-informed model of development within the field of interpersonal neurobiology.
David with his daughter Denise Daniels, PhD formed the Patterns of Developmental Pathways group with Dan Siegel, MD, Laura Baker, PhD and Jack Killen MD. The work, resulting in a book titled, Personality & Wholeness in Therapy: Integrating 9 Patterns of Developmental Pathways in Clinical Practice, Norton Publishing, 2025, brings the Enneagram and Affective Neuroscience together for use in therapy.
2) Exploration of effectiveness of The Narrative Enneagram (TNE) training program.
An early stage study with 122 participants titled, “Advancing Ego Development in Adulthood through Study of the Enneagram System of Personality” was co-authored by David Daniels, M.D.; Terry Saracino, M.A., M.B.A.; Meghan Fraley, Ph.D.; Jennifer Christian, Psy.D.; and Seth Pardo, Ph.D. It was published by Springer in the Journal of Adult Development, 2018.
3) Evaluation of genetic influences on Enneagram patterns in a twin study.
An early stage study of 36 sets of twins with lead author Betsy Maxon was published in the International Enneagram Association (IEA) Nine Points Journal, 2008.
4) Development of a scientifically validated Enneagram test.
With renowned Stanford University psychometric and personality researcher, Virgina Price, Ph.D., David developed the Essential Enneagram Test with 970 participants. It was originally published as the Stanford Enneagram Discovery Inventory and Guide, 1998.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
If you are interested in pursuing your own psychological growth, please feel free to consider any of the following:
- Enneagram Intensive Training, with The Narrative Enneagram (TNE)
- The thoughtful growth practices found in the back of David’s book, The Essential Enneagram
- Or, review type-by-type growth practices found here on David’s website