Christiane Wells, PhD, LSW, is the Director of Qualitative Research at the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development. She studies the lived experience of giftedness and emotional development through the lens of Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration and critical psychology. She has investigated the history of Dąbrowski’s constructs and their evolution and also studies Polish in order to read his original works. Her background in qualitative methods includes using text and content analysis techniques to examine and evaluate data and bodies of literature. Chris is also a therapist in private practice with gifted and twice-exceptional adults.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

• The DSM does not cover giftedness. You might not get a diagnosis which answers all your questions and covers all your needs.
• The word gifted is not only a word important for children’s education. Giftedness does not end after school. Gifted programs focus on the academic but not what it means to be gifted.
• The label gifted can be burdened with high expectations (can lead to gifted trauma).
• Gifted children not necessarily thrive academically.
• If you are an extreme outlier, being in a regular school can feel like torture! 
• Parents often learn through their children about their own giftedness and twice-exceptionality (2e).
• ADHD diagnosis could potentially be a sign of Overexcitabilities (OEs).
• You can be gifted outside of the stereotypes.
• Not all of Dabrowski's work has been translated yet.
• There needs to be respect for the inner experience of giftedness!
• Let’s Talk 2e adults’ conference is the first of it’s kind and completely free for the first 24 hours on November 1st, 2021 - you can purchase access forever, use my affiliate link

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Learn more from Chris by listening to her and Emma Nicholson’s podcast called Positive Disintegration

Subscribe to their Positive Disintegration Substack

Christianewells.com | Twitter | facebook group for parents of gifted and 2e kids

Chris as keynote speaker at the 15th Dabrowski Congress

Michael Piechowski | Book Living with Intensity

Reexamining Overexcitability: A Framework for Understanding Intense Experience by Michael Piechowski and Chris Wells PDF downloa

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