PCM
PCM® Process Communication Model® · Certified trainers

The Process Communication Model (PCM) — find out how you communicate and what happens under pressure

PCM — the Process Communication Model® — describes 6 personality types and how each one perceives the world, communicates, is motivated and behaves under stress. The key difference from other typologies is that PCM works in real time: you observe a person's behaviour and can adapt your communication without a questionnaire.

Key to Me™ profile · 26–40 pp.
RU · EN and 22 languages
Questionnaire + debrief
Sound familiar?

You behave differently under pressure — and regret it afterwards

Motivation drops — and it is unclear where to find energy

You speak clearly — and are understood differently

The same conflicts repeat — even though everyone is a professional

PCM gives you a shared language and an entry point into any conversation — how to switch to the other person's channel and stop stress escalating into conflict.

1972
the year PCM was created (Dr Kahler)
720
unique personality combinations
52
countries · 24 languages
5700+
certified trainers
1.7m
people have completed PCM training
Expertise

Who the PCM model suits

Individual development

Where fatigue comes from, how stress works specifically for you and what you need to recover. Profiling is done once — the instrument stays with you for life.

Teams

The PCM team report reveals why the same conflicts keep repeating — and gives a shared language for resolving them. The stress patterns of the whole group and their motivational differences become visible.

HR and L&D specialists

An instrument for team training, working with motivation and development programmes. PCM is applied in live interaction — no additional questionnaires. One profile works for life.

Executives and leaders

Understand your management style and learn to switch between channels for different people. Stop demanding from others what comes naturally to you — and stop being surprised when it does not work.

Structure

The 6 PCM personality types

Process Communication Model® (PCM) describes personality as a six-storey condominium: every person contains all six types — but in different proportions, forming one of 720 unique combinations. The Base type is set in childhood and does not change. The current Phase shows your present psychological needs.

An example PCM profile
An example PCM profile — personality structure.
(click to enlarge)
Thinker
Responsible, logical, organised

Perceives the world through thoughts and facts. Values structure, data and clarity. Channel — requestive. Under stress: over-control, excessive explaining, inability to delegate.

Need: recognition for work and time structure
Harmonizer
Compassionate, sensitive, warm

Perceives the world through feelings and relationships. Creates warmth and support. Channel — nurturative. Under stress: mistakes, self-criticism, seeking approval, self-sacrifice.

Need: recognition of person, sensory pleasures
Promoter
Adaptable, charming, resourceful

Perceives the world through action. Decides quickly, adapts in uncertainty. Channel — directive. Under stress: manipulation, ignoring agreements, provocation.

Need: excitement, challenge, immediate results
Persister
Dedicated, observant, conscientious

Perceives the world through convictions and values. Dependable, keeps their word. Channel — requestive. Under stress: criticising others, imposing their own truth, suspicion.

Need: recognition of convictions and work
Rebel
Spontaneous, creative, playful

Perceives the world through reactions — like / dislike. Lives in the present, thinks in emotions. Channel — emotive. Under stress: negative drama, blame, ignoring rules.

Need: contact, play, fun
Imaginer
Reflective, calm, with a rich imagination

Perceives the world through imagination. Introspective, needs clear instructions or a prompt. Channel — directive. Under stress: passivity, withdrawal, waiting without acting.

Need: solitude, time to reflect
For the executive

What you will learn about yourself from PCM

Leadership style and blind spots
Who is easy for you to lead — and with whom do you lose energy?

The PCM leadership profile shows your «leadership energy» for each type: who you lead naturally and where your blind spots are. It changes how you build a team and delegate.

You see your strengths as a leader
You know your blind spots and how to compensate for them
You understand how to motivate each type in the team
The stress sequence
What happens to you under pressure — and do others see it?

PCM describes three degrees of distress for each type. The first degree lasts seconds but is already visible to those around you. The patterns repeat — they can be recognised and interrupted before they escalate.

You know your stress mask and its early signals
You can stop the escalation at the first degree
You get concrete techniques for getting out of distress
Psychological needs
Why do you burn out where others thrive?

Each type has its own psychological needs — what gives energy and without which stress builds. Ignoring your own needs inevitably leads to distress, regardless of position or experience.

You understand what genuinely energises you
You recognise the first signals of stress in yourself and others
You learn to meet your needs without being destructive
Communication channels
Why do you hear some people immediately and have to repeat yourself with others?

PCM describes 4 communication channels. Each personality type prefers its own. If you speak in logic to a Harmonizer, they do not hear you. If you speak in emotion to a Thinker, they lose the thread. PCM gives you an entry point into any conversation.

You learn your preferred channel
You learn to switch to the other person's channel
You stop spending energy on repeating yourself
Catalogue

Choose a PCM profiling format

Click a card to see a full description, which objectives it suits and what the report includes. All formats include a mandatory debrief with a certified PCM trainer — a requirement of Kahler Communications, Inc.

Quick start
Short profile
PCM · basic snapshot
Details
Recommended
Core
Extended Key to Me™ profile
PCM · 26–40 pp.
Details
Executives
Leadership profile
PCM Leadership
Details
Teams · HR
Team report
PCM Team
Details
Pricing

PCM formats

All formats include the official PCM questionnaire (Personality Pattern Inventory) and a debrief with a certified PCM trainer. This is a requirement of Kahler Communications, Inc., the rights holder of the Process Communication Model. For corporate projects (5+ participants) — request a proposal.

PCM-1 training
Foundation certification seminar
Includes PCM profiling. 6 types, channels, stress — practice on real cases. International certificate from Kahler Communications.
85 000 ₽
In person · Moscow · 2 days
Schedule →
2 days in person · small group of up to 15
Dates in the calendar →
Recommended
Extended profile
Key to Me™ + debrief
Test + full 26–40 page profile + a session with a trainer
45 700 ₽
per participant
The official online PCM questionnaire
Key to Me™ PDF, 26–40 pp., in Russian
Debrief with a trainer — 1 hour
Practical recommendations
1 hour · one to one
For two
A PCM session for a pair
Two profiles + a joint debrief. For partners, a manager and an employee, or colleagues — the differences in channels, needs and stress become visible.
80 000 ₽
for two participants
Two official PCM questionnaires
Two Key to Me™ profiles (short format)
A joint session with a trainer — 1.5 hours
1.5 hours · online
Process

How PCM profiling works — 5 steps

💳
Request
You choose a format and leave a request. Contract and invoice on request.
🔗
Test link
Within 1 business day — a link to the official PCM questionnaire (PPI).
📝
Completion
35–45 minutes online, at a time that suits you.
📄
PDF profile
Within 2 business days after completion — the finished profile.
🎯
Debrief
An individual debrief session with a certified trainer.
For companies

Taking part in a tender or requesting a proposal

If you are an HR director or an executive who needs to get a purchase approved, we will prepare a proposal detailing the objective, instruments, timeline and cost.

A proposal describing the PCM methodology and the process
A cost calculation based on the number of participants
Contract, invoice and closing documents
A presentation for leadership — on request
We reply within one business day
Request a proposal

Fill this in and we will prepare it within one business day

Who runs it

Certified Process Communication Model® trainers

Alexandra Rodnishcheva
Alexandra Rodnishcheva
Trainer, facilitator of strategy sessions, organisational development consultant
PCM Certified Trainer Agile · Kanban · Scrum

Certified PCM trainer. Expert in communication skills, organisational development and team building. Director of the DobroSvet charitable foundation, speaker at conferences and forums.

Evgenia Chertarinskaya
Evgenia Chertarinskaya
Team coach · OKR · Agile
PCM Certified Trainer Hogan TDS LDP Harthill Agile OKR Coach

Managing partner at Psychometric, lecturer. Works with executives and teams at the intersection of psychometrics, communication and organisational development.

Often taken together

PCM + what else completes the picture

The Process Communication Model® works well alongside other instruments — each adds something the others do not have.

RMP+PCM
PCM + RMP

PCM describes psychological needs through personality type and phase. The Reiss Motivation Profile (RMP) uncovers 16 basic motives — why a person does what they do. Together they give an exhaustive picture of motivation.

Learn about RMP →
PCM+LDP
PCM + LDP Harthill

PCM shows a leader's operational patterns in the present. Harthill LDP measures the level of vertical development — the depth of reflection and complexity of thinking. Together you see not only how a person behaves but how ready they are for the next level.

Learn about LDP →
PCM+H
PCM + Hogan

Hogan shows what happens to a leader under pressure. PCM explains why — through personality type and motivation. Together they form a complete operating map of an executive.

Learn about Hogan →
The science

PCM (the Process Communication Model®) is not a typology

PCM was developed as a clinical instrument — first for psychotherapy within transactional analysis, then for business and education. Unlike typologies such as MBTI, PCM describes not a static «type» but the dynamic structure of personality and predictable behaviour patterns under stress. The key difference is that the model works in real time, without questionnaires.

52 countries · 24 languages
Use of the method worldwide
5,700+ trainers
1.7m people have completed PCM training
Fortune 500
Apple, BMW, GM Financial, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Woolworths
NASA
Used PCM for the selection and psychological preparation of astronauts

The model was created by Dr Taibi Kahler, a clinical psychologist. PCM was created in 1972. Kahler is a recipient of the Eric Berne Memorial Award in transactional analysis.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the Process Communication Model®

First step

Professional advice — free

Describe your objective. We will study it and suggest 2–3 instruments with an estimate of cost. There is no obligation.

We reply within one business day
We will estimate cost and timing
We will match an instrument to your objective
Get a preliminary assessment

Describe your objective in your own words