Personality by Design

What if you could become the person who can create the future you want?

A smiling woman with shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair wearing a navy blazer over a floral dress with red, purple, and white colors, and accessorized with layered gold necklaces and bracelets, seated against a plain white background.

Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, personality scientist, and Professor at the University of Kentucky studying how people can intentionally change the patterns that shape who they are.

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160+

Scientific Publications

$10M

Research Funding

Professor

University of Kentucky

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FORTHCOMING BOOK

What if your personality isn't something you're stuck with, but something you can intentionally shape?

Drawing on decades of personality science and 15+ years of her own research on how people change, Shannon Sauer-Zavala shows readers how to identify the personality patterns standing between them and the lives they want, and how to change them.

The Personality Edit

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Coming August 2027 from New Harbinger Publications

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Meet Shannon

Psychologist | Personality Scientist | Professor

For more than 15 years, my research has focused on a deceptively simple question: How do people change?

I started by developing more efficient treatments for mental health problems. That work eventually led me to personality: the patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that shape not only our mental health, but our relationships, careers, and the lives we build.

Today, I study how we can change those patterns intentionally, and how to translate that science into practical tools people can use in their everyday lives.

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More about Shannon →

You're not just "wired this way." Your personality is a starting point, not a life sentence.

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    Your Starting Point

    Take the Personality Compass Assessment (free) to learn where you fall on the traits that shape our lives. Get insight on areas for growth.

    Take the Test →
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    Shape Your Traits

    Explore science-backed programs to intentionally cultivate the traits that will bring you closer to the relationships, career, and life you want.

    Explore Personality Change
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    Culture Shift

    Bring personality science to your event or organization, from keynotes to workshops to long-term personality-based employee development programs.

    Explore Speaking

Personality science is the future of mental health treatment, too

We tend to treat anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, and other mental health conditions as separate problems requiring separate solutions. But underneath those diagnostic labels are many of the same personality vulnerabilities.

Instead of treating each diagnosis separately, the COMPASS model targets these shared patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving directly, with the goal of making treatment more efficient and personalized.

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Mental health provider or clinic? Learn about COMPASS training opportunities
Learn about the COMPASS model: A personality-based treatment system

NEW BOOK | August 2026

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The BPD Compass Workbook

People with BPD who want to understand and change the personality patterns underlying their symptoms, and therapists who want to help their clients do the same.

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