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Kazimierz Dąbrowski MD, PhD.
Generated by AI, courtesy of Jacek Romanski.
Born: 9/1/1902 Klarów, Poland Died: 11/26/1980 Warsaw.
The theory of positive disintegration offers a unique perspective, reframing crises as necessary for psychological growth. This humanistic approach, falling under the umbrella of positive psychology and post-traumatic growth, challenges traditional views of psychological adjustment and conformity as positive. Instead, it calls on the individual to embark on a personal quest to find themselves and develop their unique personality.
The theory encourages us to consider the context of our anxieties, depressions, and existential concerns. It asks whether these “problems” actually indicate our potential for growth. Many people who accept the status quo lead happy, blissful lives. However, what motivates them to expand and improve? In this perspective, we view these problems as indicators pointing towards opportunities for personal development.
The theory is deeply rooted in traditional philosophy and neurology. It presents a system of ideas, along with new perspectives and terms, that assist in explaining human behavior from its darkest and lowest forms to its noblest and highest. It also explains why some individuals “get stuck” while others continue to develop.
A short animation of the theory by Zeke Degraw, used with permission.
★ NEW and HIGHLIGHTED! ★
An open letter from Chris Van Camp.
Our Dutch friends have a great webpage.
Dutch Dąbrowski webpage.
Van Camp, C. (2024). Crash baby crash:
Exploring personal growth through positive
disintegration. Antwerp.
Here is the Link
It is a courageous book about autonomy and nonconformism, about personal development and deep-seated empathy, as well as about the driving force of emotions and the importance of the search itself. It is a positive story that can reveal, for many, that the intense life they have lived was nothing but a process of becoming who they can truly be. Does your intensity scare others away? Do you know deep emotional darkness as well as peak experiences? Do you often feel like an outcast? Then the theory of Positive Disintegration by the almost forgotten Polish psychiatrist Kazimierz Dabrowski is the gamechanger you need. Crash Baby Crash is an eye opener, the ideal introduction to the ideas of Dabrowski. Chris Van Camp focuses on the tools the 21st-century reader can use to begin a self-examination. century reader can use to begin a long journey of self-examination.
Chris Van Camp is a Belgian author whose columns, plays and books focus on the searching human being. When she discovered Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration, her life changed. In-depth research followed. Which resulted in two books: the autobiographical The Kiss of Dabrowski (not yet available in English translation) and Crash Baby Crash, your ideal companion on the path of self-exploration.
“This is the first book about Dabrowski that I have seen that captures the essence and heart of his theory. It is presented step-by-step and powerfully illustrated by how it impacted the author’s quest for growth. I highly recommend this book as an indispensable companion to Dabrowski’s works. This excerpt captures its spirit: ‘I’d rather walk the difficult, precarious path that sometimes flirts with the deep abysses of the human psyche but also leads us past beautiful vistas. Ever closer to your authentic self.’” William Tillier
Book on Dąbrowski:
Mendaglio S. (2022).
Dynamisms, Development, and Dispositions:
Essays in Honor of Kazimierz Dąbrowski.
Gifted Unlimited.
Here is the LINK.
Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration redefines established psychological constructs, especially the construct of psychopathology. Current views of what constitutes disorders is so engrained in western cultures that they are seen, implicitly, as immutable. Any codification of what comprises psychiatric disorders or abnormality is a social construction, subject to change, as indicated by some changes in the DSM over the years. Dąbrowski’s theory questions the very foundation of the approach to psychopathology that existed in his time and is evident today. The critical message of the theory of positive disintegration is that what are deemed symptoms of mental disorder may be, instead, signs of personal growth. Dąbrowski does not simply proclaim his position, he provides a coherent explanation for it. While Dąbrowski addresses substantive issues of mental illness and mental health, most of the research literature purporting to investigate his theory dwells on one component of his theory: overexcitability. The essays in Dynamism, Development and Dispositions: Essays in Honor of Kazimierz Dąbrowski have a common aim: to draw attention to the fullness of the theory with the hope of encouraging researchers to move beyond their singular atomic focus. A word on the subtitle of the book is in order. Sal Mendaglio’s essays honor a great theorist with a scholarly, not effusive, treatment of the theory of positive disintegration.
My book on TPD.
Personality development through positive disintegration:
The
work of Kazimierz Dąbrowski,
2018.
.
⚀ 1. Introduction to TPD.
⚀ 2. Archive of the TPD.
⚀ 3. Learn the TPD.
⚀ 4. Bibliography.
⚀ 5. Biography of Dąbrowski.
⚀ 6. Congresses on the TPD.
⚀ 7. Applications of the TPD.
⚀ 10. Neo-Dąbrowskian Advances.
at the church of the Roman Catholic parish
of the Heart of Jesus in Warsaw.
⚁ An open letter from Chris Van Camp.
⚂ Denver, July 2024
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Dear Dąbrowskian reader,
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What a wealth of insights and experiences we get to share here. How wonderful it is not to be alone for once, but to explore the details of Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration together with like-minded people. The theory, or rather the frame of mind, that brought us closer to our authentic selves. We listen to each other and feel more connected than ever. For which there is great gratitude.
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But shouldn’t we be careful not to preach only to our own community? Instead of settling into the grammar of the theory, shouldn’t we be asking what we can do with these insights for others? We must work to be able to recognize the disintegrations of our fellow human beings and humanity as a whole. How can we spread hope or even faith in a positive outcome?
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Dąbrowski was ahead of his time. He gave us a theory for the 21st century!
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With all due respect for technical developments, the glory of artificial intelligence at the expense of any faith in human capabilities and potential, is an aberration. Refusing to see the limits of AI’s judgment leads to our disastrous submission to a psychopathic entity. Dąbrowski repeatedly warned against intelligence without emotional development. I believe that getting more people interested in Dąbrowski’s theory could lead to a revival of our own potential.
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Dąbrowski gave us the key to understanding and dealing with our changing world. It is really not difficult to recognize a process of disintegration in this time of simultaneous crises. This pivotal moment is being felt worldwide. Never before has the multilevel nature of development been so well illustrated.
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The demolition of the existing structures is necessary to break free from our deep-seated enslavement and to live a full life.
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But … On what levels do we as humanity balance? How do micro and macro relate to each other? What is the likelihood of a negative disintegration where we fall to a lower level?
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Reread Dąbrowski’s description of the process of disintegration, and try to find all the elements in our worldview and current events. A fine thought exercise. The protest against blind authority is growing, and critical people are looking for alternatives. But, it’s not a majority yet. Question: is harmony even possible in a society without a multilayered majority?
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I would like to believe that after the necessary turbulence, and unfortunately with a lot of collateral damage, we will be able to see this global disintegration as positive.
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But: can society handle a theory that says that not everyone has the same opportunities for development? That some have more potential than others? Dąbrowski estimated that 35 percent of humanity has the potential to develop its personality towards its own ideal image. This means that the remaining 65 percent will never think or act autonomously, cannot engage in introspection, has no multilayeredness and will never break free from the social structures into which one is born. It implies they will focus all their aggression and frustration purely on the outside world and the other. Mass formation would not be possible without their considerable share.
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Strangely enough, the 65 percent who will never grow out of the first and second level, isn’t labeled as deranged. It’s the 35 percent developing their personality in a disruptive way – that’s often considered problematic.
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Today so many of us have what’s called burnout or have been diagnosed as unstable. From a Dąbrowskian point of view, I would like to believe that many of us are making a leap of consciousness today, and that recognizing this can contribute to the positive outcome of this process of mass disintegration.
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But even with this perspective, Dąbrowski’s theory isn’t widespread and popular.
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To accept Dąbrowski’s growth model as true would have major consequences. The economic values on which our society is built would have to change. Obedience would no longer be a virtue, but authentic and autonomous thinking would be. It would change the whole of society. Problem: right now change creates tremendous resistance.
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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the phenomenon of the human being can count on very little respect today. It’s raining accusations, we are the instigators of all evil. Without the straitjacket of laws and rules, without control by everyone of everyone, we believe that everything goes wrong because of human nature.
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There is no longer a belief in man as a moral, empathetic being. We are in a vortex of general indignation and guilt at the same time. No one gets away scot-free. It’s as if an increasingly abstract authority needs to surgically remove humans from the ecosystem, so we can’t do any more harm. Although, we fit perfectly into this ecosystem.
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We are a relevant part of it and have a role to play. But there is currently no room for any theory that has even a shred of faith in humans.
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I can think of so many reasons why Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration is not being presented as a game changer, as a great theory like Freud’s psychoanalysis or even Einstein’s theory of relativity.
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The question is: how do we change this?
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How can we, in the next year, double the percentage of people who know and study Dąbrowski’s work, and perhaps find out they live the theory?
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I’m counting on you.
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From the heart (and also a little from Crash Baby Crash),
Chris van Camp