Dr. Curt Thompson on the Enneagram and Shame

The Enneagram provides nine consistent, fairly predictable ways for us to understand and tell our narrative of how we operate in the world and make sense of our lives. It’s a tool that helps us enter into a conversation with ourselves about the recurring themes and patterns of behaviors that are self-defeating or hurtful to others. One of the themes that operates as a thread in each of our lives is shame. Next to love, I believe shame is the most powerful force in the universe, but in the wrong direction.

In today’s profoundly moving, heart-changing episode, author and psychiatrist Dr. Curt Thompson joins me for a deep conversation about shame and how it plays out as a human experience for all nine types.

In this episode we cover:

• The definition of shame... what it does as opposed to what it is
• Ways shame manifests in each Enneagram type
• How we can begin to heal shame through community

About Curt Thompson, M.D.

Curt Thompson, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in Falls Church, Virginia, and founder of Being Known, which develops teaching programs, seminars, and resource materials to help people explore the connection between interpersonal neurobiology and Christian spirituality which lead to genuine change and transformation.

Dr. Thompson is the author of Anatomy of the Soul and The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves.

Thompson graduated from Wright State University School of Medicine and completed his psychiatric residency at Temple University Hospital. He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

He and his wife, Phyllis, are the parents of two children and reside in Arlington, Virginia. He serves as an elder at Washington Community Fellowship in Washington, D.C.