Around the Circle | An Enneagram Channel

In this episode of Inside Story, Kristen sits down with Joe, a Type Nine whose journey through recovery, Enneagram work, marriage, parenting, and leadership offers a thoughtful look at what growth can look like for Nines.
Together they explore the relationship between the Enneagram and 12-step recovery, the challenge of recognizing and expressing anger, passive-aggression, conflict, self-forgetting, and the fear of disrupting peace. Joe reflects on how routines, courage, accountability, and trusted communities have helped him find his voice and take meaningful action.
The conversation also touches on humility, expertise, relationships, spirituality, and why growth often requires doing the thing we least want to do. For Nines—and anyone who struggles to trust themselves, speak up, or act before they feel ready—this is a rich conversation about what it means to remember that you matter.

Dan Siegel's Patterns of Developmental Pathways (PDP) framework is one of the first serious attempts to bridge Enneagram ideas with neuroscience, developmental psychology, and clinical practice.
In this episode, I break down the core concepts behind PDP: temperament vs. adaptive strategies, neuroplasticity, the role of "wholeness" in personality development, and the three pillars of the framework -- Vectors, Attendency, and Emotional Regulation Strategies.
We'll also explore how PDP maps onto traditional Enneagram types, where it agrees with existing Enneagram theory, where it diverges, and why Dan Siegel prefers talking about patterns rather than fixed personality types.
If you've heard about PDP but haven't wanted to tackle a 400-page book, this episode is your quick-start guide.

Upcoming Reading Room Discussion
📅 Tuesday, June 9
🕢 7:30 PM Eastern / 5:30 PM Mountain / 4:30 PM Pacific
📖 Discussion Topic: Atlas of the Heart, Chapter 1 — Places We Go When Things Are Uncertain or Too Much
Sign up for a Free Membership : HERE
___
In this Reading Room episode, Jeff continues our summer study of Brené Brown’s Atlas of the Heart, exploring the emotions and experiences that emerge when life feels uncertain, overwhelming, or simply too much.
Drawing connections between Brown’s research and the Enneagram, this discussion covers stress, overwhelm, anxiety, worry, avoidance, fear, dread, and vulnerability—and asks what these experiences might be trying to teach us.
Topics include:
The relationship between stress, coping, and Enneagram movement
Why overwhelm may require something different than more effort
The distinction between anxiety, worry, and fear
How personality shapes emotional experience
Vulnerability as courage rather than weakness
The ongoing conversation between head, heart, and body

Jeff and Katie continue their exploration of the numbers that sit beside each type, uncovering how neighboring types share underlying emotional patterns, coping strategies, and ways of moving through the world.
They discuss why wings may be more useful for self-awareness than personal growth, the role of instincts and subtypes in Enneagram study, and the surprising similarities between Sixes and Sevens as they manage anxiety.
The conversation then turns to the dynamic relationship between Sevens and Eights: adventure, challenge, disruption, leadership, independence, and the pursuit of a life fully lived. Why do these types seem drawn toward bigger experiences? What happens when feeling takes a back seat? And what gifts emerge when they learn to bring others along for the journey?

Katie talks to a mother/daughter duo that she first met at one of her in-person courses in Cincinnati. Featuring our youngest podcast guest ever (eee!), the trio discuss what it feels like to be a teenage 4, what's important as we grow up and think about what we want our life to look like, and the many different ways that a 1 can show up as a parent.