NAPD – NeuroAffective Personality Development
NeuroAffective Personality Development (NADP) is a roadmap for how the brain and personality mature over time. Human development follows a natural step-by-step order, where each stage builds on the one before it.
It is like building a house: we have to start with the foundation, not the roof!
The NADP map can help you:
- Understand a person’s development and plan helpful interventions.
- Reflect on your own professional methods and interaction style.
- Deepen and balance meditation practices.
In healthy development, some skills need to be solid before others can grow. NADP describes three main levels:
- Sensing and body regulation – these skills are the earliest to develop. They are central to feeling safe and at home in your body.
- Emotions and empathy – these skills grow out of the ability to sense. They develop emotional awareness and the ability to develop trust and connect deeply with others.
- Impulse control and self-understanding – these skills develop throughout life. They create self-control and empathic insight into yourself and others. This helps you make thoughtful and realistic choices.
The later stages can only develop well if the earlier ones are strong—especially the ability to regulate your body and form safe, engaged relationships.
