Personality Development Through Positive Disintegration: The Work of Kazimierz Dabrowski

In his Theory of Positive Disintegration, Polish psychiatrist and psychologist Dr. Kazimierz Dąbrowski (1902-1980) proposed an approach to personality development in which crises are not only necessary but fundamental in creating opportunities for individual development. Crises force our focus inward, leading us to challenge our established beliefs, roles and routines. While crises often resolve with a return to the status quo, recovery is sometimes stymied and posttraumatic stress results. In other cases, however, the outcome is posttraumatic growth. The individual experiences a process of disintegration, a loosening of the components of personality that allows for an examination and re-evaluation of the self. One rebuilds after a crisis, implementing conscious and deliberate changes to reshape the personality toward increased autonomy, uniqueness and the realization of one's ideal personality. This work provides a comprehensive yet balanced overview of Dąbrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration in its historical and present-day contexts and demonstrates its continued relevance in today's most vital areas of psychology, including posttraumatic growth, education, neuroscience, and personality theory.

About the Author :
William (Bill) Tillier, received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Calgary and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Alberta. It was there he met Dr. Dąbrowski and became his student. Bill worked as a forensic psychologist for over 20 years before developing a neuromuscular disorder. Dąbrowski and his work remained a passion for Bill, who created a Dąbrowski website and promoted and distributed Dąbrowski's original works. He has also been involved with many Dąbrowski conferences and written an introduction to the republication of Dąbrowski's seminal work, Positive Disintegration. Bill is on disability leave and spends his time doing research and volunteering.

Review :
"This profound book -- in addition to being the definitive work about the psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski -- contains extraordinary summaries about many aspects of modern psychology. With its clear explanations, its comprehensive index, and its biographical information about Dabrowski's life and works, the book should be read not only in university courses, but also by practicing psychologists, and by everyone interested in piercing the mysteries of human development." Michael Pastore "I had never heard of Kazimerz Dabrowski before I read William Tillier's remarkable book. The Polish psychiatrist's model of personality development contains so much insight that I have already cited him in my own work. Dabrowski was a shrewd commentator on the human condition, especially in such areas as personality development, education, and suicide. His contributions heralded such perspectives as humanistic psychology, existential psychology, and positive psychology. It was a profound revelation to read this book, and gratitude must be offered to Tillier so that potential readers do not have to learn Polish to appreciate Dabrowski's wisdom." Stanley Krippner