2016 An Interview with Michael Piechowski: Recipient of SENG’s Lifetime Achievement Award
An Interview with Michael Piechowski: Recipient of SENG’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Lives of Positive Disintegration Submission Form
Lives of Positive Disintegration Submission Form
Conceptual Evolution of Overexcitability in Dabrowski’s English Works
Conceptual Evolution of Overexcitability: Descriptions and Examples from the Work of Kazimierz Dąbrowski This dataset was produced by Chris Wells for NAGC 2017 as part of her systematic review of the literature on the theory of positive disintegration. Note that this document includes only selected excerpts from 1938 because that paper hadn’t yet been fully […]
Inner Growth Handout
Handout from Inner Growth: Unilevel and Multilevel Development According to Dabrowski’s Theory by Dr. Michael M. Piechowski.
February 2023
February 2023 Newsletter Click above to download the latest newsletter! Subscribe to our newsletter If you’d like to stay informed about our work, please subscribe to our mailing list. You’ll receive our monthly newsletter, as well as any updates about the upcoming Dabrowski Congress. Edit Form Email (required) * Select list(s) to subscribe to General […]
Episode 16: Overexcitability and Openness to Experience
In episode 16, Chris and Emma were joined by Dr. Shelagh Gallagher, for a discussion of overexcitability (OE) and openness to experience (OtE), based on her paper which compares the two frameworks. Shelagh is an independent consultant in gifted education and President-Elect of the National Association for Gifted Children. We discussed the controversy in the field of gifted education about OE and OtE, and the value both frameworks can provide in informing us about the gifted student experience in education.
Episode 11: Positive Disintegration in Children and Adolescents
In episode 11, Chris and Emma were joined by Tina Harlow, LCSW, a child and family therapist specializing in giftedness in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, who shared her experiences as a neurodiversity-affirming clinician. She talked about how overexcitabilities can differ among family members and the importance of understanding and honoring these differences. She also shared strategies for dealing with the different types of overexcitability. We discussed how positive disintegration can manifest in children and teens, and how Tina supports children and their families through existential depression, physical signs of stress, spiritual crises, and more.
Episode 10: Nature, Spirit, and Disintegration
In episode 10, Chris and Emma were joined by Dr. Eric Windhorst, a counsellor, coach, and psychotherapist committed to helping others connect with their inner nature (their true, authentic selves) and outer nature (the wider, more-than-human world). Eric shared his story with us and connected his experiences of personal growth and development with Dąbrowski’s theory as well as other frameworks. He discussed spirituality, an aspect of self that is often overlooked in intellectual frameworks, and we learned about Eric’s journey to becoming his authentic self.
Episode 9: Complexity and Positive Disintegration
In episode 9, Chris and Emma were joined by Lotte van Lith, a coach, lecturer, and author from the Netherlands. Lotte has been studying and working with Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration for more than a decade, and she brought her personal and professional expertise to this discussion of complexity and emotional development in gifted and creative people. She feels that once you view the complexity of life through the lens of emotional development, you can see the paradoxes inherent in human experience. We talked about complexity as a hallmark of giftedness and discussed how the drives for authenticity and self-actualization can be supported in this population.
Episode 8: Surviving Disintegration
*Content Warning: Please be aware that sensitive issues such as suicide attempts, hospitalizations, police-related trauma, and drug use and treatment are mentioned. In episode 8, Chris and Emma share their personal experiences of positive disintegration, in an intimate, honest (and brave) discussion. They connect these life stories with constructs from Dąbrowski’s theory, and explore the dynamisms which other people might be experiencing during their own times of crisis and disintegration.