My interest in Personology

I got my qualifications as a professional MBTI type practitioner through TRI in 1996/7. (The training was in 1996 at Christmastime, so I got my test results and certificate awarded in 1997.) I trained under Dr. Linda Berens (a student of Dr. David Keirsey), and her two co-trainers, Linda Ernst and Melissa Smith.

Little did I know how much my life was going to change!

That same year, I attended TRI's first conference, and had the privilege of meeting both Dr. David Keirsey and Fritjoh Capra, a giant in the field of Physics. It was amazing to hear these two men dialogue, and grasp the notion of psychological type as interwoven with Systems Theory.

Then, in 1997, I flew to Seattle, Washington twice -- first to address the Mensa group there shortly after becoming a member (though it turns out I've been qualified to join since being a freshman in high school -- it's a long story, I'll tell ya later). My talk was on the topic of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, using the eight-function model.

This was my first formal presentation on the the eight-function model, and it seems that has laid the groundwork over the past decade for expressing what I want to talk about and better understand -- and help others to better understand.

On my second trip to Seattle, I attended an Internet get-together with fellow INFJs. (Yes, I actually went and met people I only knew through my computer -- and it was FANTASTIC.)

Then... in 2000 I attended that summer's TRI Conference and hung out with Katharine Myers (guardian of the MBTI) and all the swell TRI people, and was blown away by John Beebe's fabulous talk on the 8 functions (he originated the theory).

I also got engaged to someone who shared my passion in psychological type, and we began a type conversation that's still ongoing. He had taken his MBTI qualifications two years earlier than me with Margaret Hartzler of Type Resources. His preferences are for INTJ, and he originally began using type in his work as a project manager to do teambuilding.

We were enthralled with one another, and with type, AND we had some communication problems. We didn't always see eye-to-eye about type. Whenever we discussed the subject of Temperament, especially, the conversation seemed to go south. Finally, I threw down the gauntlet, laid down the law, drew a line in the sand. I told my fiance that if we were going to have this relationship, he would *have* to go to TRI and get proper training in the Temperament model!

Being the anxious-to-please fiance, he naturally agreed. Together, we signed up for a course at TRI in "Temperament for Type Users," and he got to meet Dr. Berens, Linda Ernst, and Melissa Smith, along with some others who were later to figure in our lives together.

Since Robin (my fiance) has a lifelong love of learning, he was delighted to improve his understanding of the Temperament model, and this knowledge put us on par for future type discussions.

That same year, I began traveling extensively with Robin during his work for a computer company. We met Steve Myers for drinks in London over the summer, enjoyed dinner with Otto Kroeger & Janet Thuesen at their magnificent house on Thanksgiving, and had pasta with Lenore Thomson and her swell husband Tom in Wisconsin shortly before Christmas. I also helped TRI publish a few books -- including one written by Dario Nardi and one written by Marci Segal (not to mention Linda Berens' books besides).

In June of 2001 I attended the biennial conference hosted by the Association for Psychological Type and met many of the luminaries of the Type community -- including Harold Grant, Mary McCaulley, and so many others I can't possibly mention them all. I have lots of pictures posted online here. to show what it was like.

In September 2001, Robin and I arrived at the Women's Symposium at Hartwick College just in time to witness the conferring of a posthumous honorary degree on Isabel Briggs-Myers, creator of the MBTI! It was a wonderful event, and many type "celebrities" attended, despite the recent terrorist attack and all the fear of flying. I did a slideshow, if you want to see it for yourself!

And in February 2002, I took training with Steve Myers to qualify for administering his unusual MTR-i assessment. I created another slideshow about what that was like.

Since then, I've been traveling around the country and meeting other Type professionals, like Barbara Brown and Liz Hallows in Texas.

I was fortunate to attend the 2002 TRI Conference. It was brilliant because it offered us a way to experience type in context through a simulation of an organization (designed by Barry Oshry). It was a mind-blowing event, and I had some amazing insights about the practical application of type. I'm still digesting the experience!

In February of 2003, Robin and I co-presented three models of the TRI Methodology(tm) for the Share Conference in Dallas at 3 separate one-hour sessions. This was our first attempt at publicly presenting together, and we were mostly happy with how things went. Based on that success, we were invited back -- so six months later we attended Share in Washington, D.C. in August 2003 and presented 4 sessions. That experience was again gratifying, so we did it again February 2004 in Long Beach.

In September 2003, we presented Kegan's theory of "discourse" at the fledgling APT Los Angeles (a new chapter we hoped to get off the ground). I won't say it was a smashing success, but I'm not wholly embarrassed for trying out something new, either.

In October, my husband and I were privileged to help with the 16types.com "Convergence" conference, a two-day conference focused on Type and Temperament and its applications in business settings. It was wonderful to gather with people we appreciate and respect, and be allowed to swim in the same waters with leading thinkers on this topic we so much enjoy.

Speaking of leading thinkers, Robin and I have been thrilled to develop a relationship with Dr. John Beebe, probably the most influential person in the type community today. He allowed us to attend his presentation on the movie "Gods and Monsters" at a Jung Institute conference in Los Angeles, and we drove to Sacramento in May to take in his groundbreaking lecture on "The Crisis of the Third Function" -- an experience we're still talking about and digesting!

We got to see him present again in July at the APT Conference in Toronto, Canada -- along with many of our other favorite people in the Type community, both new and old! I have a little photo essay about our trip here.

We helped put on another Convergence conference in La Jolla in October that was awesome (I'll get pictures up eventually), and had a great time interacting with some of our favorite people in the type community.

In November, I staffed the 16types.com booth at the National Career Development Conference, and went on to take the 3-day Career Coach training. I am now a certified JCDC -- Job and Career Development Coach -- WOW! I get to put little letters after my name now, isn't that cool?

In 2005, I did a lot with Type. We went to Florida to hear Dr. Beebe speak at a Jungian event. Robin and I presented five sessions at Share twice (once on the West Coast; once on the East Coast); we presented at an inner city Los Angeles high school (Foshay); we ran a 16types eXchange in Boston; ran another one in North Carolina; attended the international APT Conference in Portland; AND even helped put on the Convergence conference in the San Francisco area. Whew! So many pictures!

I also become MBTI Certified that year, and a highlight was chasing John Beebe down in Memphis, Tennessee for a four-day workshop that was TRANSFORMATIVE. It was a really remarkable experience that I'm still unfolding.

Subsequently, I presented Dr. Beebe's model of Archetypes (types of the Shadow) at the APTi Conference in Bribane, Australia in 2006, and then presented it again at the APTi Conference in Baltimore in 2007. Dr. Beebe himself attended this session, and he pronounced it "wonderful!" (He only suggested I change *1* word -- a miracle, coming from someone who prefers Ti!) The session was also attended by Isabel Briggs-Myers' son, Peter Myers. On his feedback form, he said he was 81 years old, enjoyed our session, and he "learned something about himself." Wow.

Last month, my article on "Relationships and Type" was presented in the APTi "Bulletin," a peer-reviewed journal on the subject of personality type. That feels pretty good, and now I'm developing another series of articles for them, and also for the BAPT Journal (British APT). So there's plenty more to come!

Now I'm doing fun things with type under my coaching banner. As a "psychological type coach," and "self-discovery specialist," I feature a number of "Self-Discovery packages" that can be done over the phone -- I think I'm a pioneer in this regard! Check me out at www.TypeInsights.com.

It's an understatement to say all this activity is sheer ecstasy for my Personology side!