Enneagram

Domain XIV · Western esoteric, divinatory & new spiritual movements · Oscar Ichazo, Claudio Naranjo, Don Riso

What it is

The Enneagram of Personality is a typology, not a therapy. It is a framework that sorts people into nine basic personality types arranged around a nine-pointed figure, each type described as a habitual pattern of attention, emotion and motivation. It is used in self-development, coaching, business,…

Format

• The Enneagram is a model rather than a staged treatment, so it has no fixed session count, phases or discharge criteria of its own; what follows is the conceptual architecture a therapist needs, with the sequence in which it is usually introduced. Where a session structure is implied, it is.
• The Levels of Development. Each type contains an internal continuum of nine Levels, grouped in three ranges — Healthy (Levels 1–3: Liberation, Psychological Capacity, Social Value), Average (Levels 4–6: Imbalance/Social Role, Interpersonal Control, Overcompensation) and Unhealthy (Levels 7–9:…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• The Enneagram of Personality is a typology, not a therapy. It is a framework that sorts people into nine basic personality types arranged around a nine-pointed figure, each type described as a habitual pattern of attention, emotion and motivation. It is used in self-development, coaching, business, spiritual direction and some pastoral and counselling settings, but it is not a diagnostic instrument and no…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Wings. Each type is shaded by one of the two adjacent types on the circle (its wing); most people have a dominant wing while the other stays operative to some degree. (Note: the systematic review found the wing concept unsupported empirically.)

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Proliferating categories; analysis paralysis. It is working when the subtype clarifies a real-life priority.
• Over-elaboration that distracts from the core pattern. It is working when the wing adds a usable nuance, not more labels.
• Self-labelling as 'going to my stress point' to excuse behaviour. It is working when the client catches the shift and intervenes earlier.
• Over-trust in a number; distress at a result that contradicts self-image. It is working when the client can hold the score as provisional.
• Drifting into the role of spiritual teacher; spiritual bypassing. It is working when the practice supports both faith and honest self-seeing.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.