Typing Tips for Counselors Using the Enneagram in Therapy- Part I

While typing others in personal relationships is discouraged in the Enneagram community, it can be incredibly useful to counselors for case conceptualization, treatment planning, and organizing a relevant approach to therapy. It does this by quickly clarifying the client’s issues, patterns, and gifts as well as by suggesting useful interventions and potential paths to positive outcomes in therapy.

Needless to say, it’s difficult to rely on the client’s self-report of their Enneagram Type. It typically requires far more than taking a test to determine Type. Moreover, I’ve seen where clients may be unwilling or unable to see their true Type due to fear of feeling shame or embarrassment about their type culminating in self-report bias. Bias can also happen due to low levels of self-awareness or a client’s preference for more positive-sounding types such as Type 3 for men or women, Type 2 for women, and Type 8 for men. More often than not, it takes some time and some effort to settle on one’s true Type.

Below are a few ways to narrow down a client’s Enneagram Type. The following suggestions have been collected from multiple sources and questions I’ve often asked myself when typing clients in my clinical practice over the past ten years.

Emotion: What feeling does the client seem to struggle with the most?

Type 1, 8, 9: Anger
Type 2, 3, 4: Shame
Type 5, 6, 7: Fear

Motivation: What set of fundamental needs does the client most attend to?

Type 1, 8, 9: Agency & Power
Type 2, 3, 4: Attention & Bonding
Type 5, 6, 7: Certainty & Safety

Desire: What does the client want and how do they want to be seen by others?

Body Types need to be soothed, Heart Types need to be seen, and Head Types need to be safe.

Ones want to be right/perfect; Twos want to be liked/needed; Threes want to be the best and successful; Nines want to be peaceful; Fours want to be unique or special; Fives want to be knowledgeable; Sixes want to be safe; Sevens what to be busy and upbeat; and Eights want to be strong.

Passion: What seems to be the client’s biggest barrier to change and growth?

Type 8’s passion is lust/intensity, Type 9’s is laziness, Type 1’s is anger, Type 2’s is pride/self-importance, Type 3’s is deceit/self-deceit, Type 4’s is envy, Type 5’s is avarice/grasping, Type 6’s is fear, and Type 7’s is gluttony.

Stance: How does the client approach life, work, and relationships?

Aggressive: 3, 7, 8
Aggressive types commonly cope with anxiety, vulnerability, and insecurity by seeking power, control, and dominance over others. These individuals typically display hostility, competitiveness, and a drive for superiority.

Characteristics of these types can include assertiveness — possibly to the point of aggression. They often have a strong need for power, control, and influence and a pattern of striving to be the best by focusing on success fueled by recognition, superiority, and ambition. These types also have a tendency to question others’ motives and may have a history of exploiting or manipulating others to meet their needs or achieve their goals. Moreover, these types can, and often do, view relationships as a battle for control.

Compliant: 1, 2, 6
Compliant/dependent types commonly cope with anxiety, vulnerability, and insecurity by seeking and prioritizing connection, bonding, and approval from others by seeking acceptance, approval, and support from others.

Characteristic of these types can include a craving for validation from others and a fear of rejection as well as a tendency to gain security by seeking closeness and support from others. They may often surrender their own needs, prioritize others’ needs, and/or please others in order to make others happy — sometimes at their own expense or to the point of self-sacrifice, martyrdom, and resentment. They may take a submissive or dependence stance in relationships or tolerate mistreatment in their relationships. Their conflict aversion is driven by a fear of abandonment, being alone, or rejected. They often suppress or resist expressing their true feelings in order to maintain peace and harmony in their relationships. They may also become overly dependent on others for validation or reassurance and/or act as if their self-worth is determined by how much they are loved, needed, or meet others’ expectations.

Withdrawn: 4, 5, 9
Withdrawn types typically cope with anxiety, vulnerability, and insecurity by retreating into themselves. These individuals often display a strong drive for independence and autonomy, self-sufficiency, and emotional detachment.

Characteristics of this type can include a tendency to avoid deep emotional connections and a drive for self-reliance over dependency on others. They present with a pattern of conflict avoidance, tend to prioritize their personal space/solitude, and often indicate feeling drained by social interactions. To emotionally detach, they suppress both positive and negative emotions. These types can often appear aloof, indifferent, or uninterested in social activity and show a strong preference for intellectual pursuits, art, or personal projects, rather than relationships. In fact, there is commonly a de-emphasis on interpersonal relationships by these types.

Values: What does the client seem to value the most?

Body Triad: 8, 9, 1
Action, vitality, self-determination, autonomy, justice, protecting safety

Heart Triad: 2, 3, 4
Emotions, feelings, relationships, connection, interpersonal dynamics

Head Triad: 5, 6, 7
Information, logic, knowledge, patterns, analysis, certainty, safety

Coping: What is the client’s primary coping style?

Emotional Truth/Reactive Group (4, 6, 8) – intensity, emotionality, and test others
Competency Group (1, 3, 5) – strive to be responsible, competent, and dependable
Positive Outlook (2, 7, 9) – bypass difficulty with numbing, activity, or positivity

Vulnerabilities & Issues

The following conditions or situations create vulnerabilities and issues for clients.

What is the client personally and relationally triggered by the most?

Body/Gut Triad: 8, 9, 1
Powerlessness, Futility, Imperfection, Being out of Control, Boredom

Heart Triad: 2, 3, 4
Identity, Success, and Worth

Head Triad: 5, 6, 7
Being stuck, Uncertainty, Change, Planning for Problems, Anxiety

Consider the Wings

If considering more than one Type, what set of wings so you see more of in the client?

Ex. If a client presents with qualities that could indicate a Type 2 or Type 3, ask yourself if you can see more attributes connected to wings 1 and 3 or wings 2 and 4 respectively. In another example, if comparing a Type 6 with a Type 7, ask yourself if you see more of wings 5 and 7 or 6 and 8.

These are just a few of the ways I’ve found helpful in identifying a client’s Type. Of course, you can also ask the client to take a Typing test or ask them to read the type descriptions. While not always entirely accurate, the client’s self-selected Type could illuminate some things you may have missed or their findings can lead to further inquiry. Even if you don’t agree with the client, you can ask the client what they identify with in their chosen Type. Such inquiry can lead to insights and exploration into what matters to the client regardless of their Type and lead to positive changes.

Helpful Resources for Typing

Online
The Enneagram Institute
The Narrative Enneagram

Books
The Art of Typing: Powerful Tool for Enneagram Typing by Ginger Lapid-Bogda Ph.D.
The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Don Riso and Russ Hudson