The Enneagram

Spiritual Care Partners

"I'm convinced that every priest must
know human psychology," Pope
Francis said. "There are those who
know it from the experience of the
years, but the study of psychology is
necessary for a priest.“
- Pope Francis, 2021
 Enneagram
Type 1 – The Reformer – Br. Christian; Br. Mark Ken; Br. Ariel; Br.
Tan; Br. Lam
Type 2 – The Helper- Br. Behn; Br. Mark Ben;
Type 3 – The Achiever – Br. Christian; Br. Ariel; Br. Rex;
Type 4 – The Artist- Br. Tan;
Type 5 – The Observer- Br. Rex;
Type 6 – The Loyalist – Br. Mark Ben?; Br. Lam
Type 7 – The Enthusiast- Br. Tan;
Type 8 – The Leader – Br. Mark Ken;
Type 9 – The Peace Maker – Br. Behn;
 What is the Enneagram?
 A tool that helps us develop self-knowledge and
understanding;
 Helps us live as our authentic selves;
 Helps us understand others in order to improve
communication and strengthen relationships.
 Limitations
 The self is not a commodity; can’t be measured.
 The self is hidden in God; can’t be “found”.
 No one has actually seen “the self.”
 The Enneagram and other personality typing systems are
necessary because self-knowledge is necessary but are
insufficient/incomplete/not enough.
- Fr. Martin Laird – Encountering Silence Podcast

 Systems are at risk of serving as rationalization of or

justification for bad behavior.
– “Well, I just behave this way because I am a 5 on the
Enneagram.”
- Cassidy Hall - Encountering Silence Podcast
We have all nine types within us.
Our most dominant type is our default
type.
(Riso and Hudson, 2003, 9)
 How Is It Useful?
Helps us recognize and understand overall
patterns in human behavior:
• External behaviors
• Underlying attitudes
• Emotional reactions
• Conscious and unconscious motivations
• Defense mechanisms
Helps us appreciate the differences in each
other which helps communication and
interaction.
(Riso and Hudson, 2003, 10)
TYPES
 Types
1) The Reformer/ Perfectionist
Principled, purposeful, self-controlled, perfectionistic
2) The Helper/ Giver
Generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, possessive
3) The Achiever/ Motivator
Adaptable, excelling, driven, image-conscious
4) The Individualist/ Artist
Expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, temperamental
5) The Observer / Thinker
Perceptive, innovative, secretive, isolated
 Types
6) The Loyalist/ Inquisitive
Engaging, responsible, anxious, suspicious
7) The Enthusiast/Generalist
Spontaneous, versatile, distractible, scattered
8) The Leader/ Challenger
Self-confident, decisive, willful, confrontational
9) The Peacemaker/ Mediator
Receptive, reassuring, accommodating, complacent

(Riso and Hudson, 2003, 66-67)

 1. The Reformer/ Perfectionist
 A highly controlled personality. They are focused
on living what they see as a fair and good life and are
vigilant rule-keepers.
 Fear: Criticism, imbalance, acting out.
 Motivation: Behaving well, being honest, goodness.
 Most Compatible: Seven—teaches ones how to stay
enthusiastic, be spontaneous and lighten up on the
rules.
 Least Compatible: Four—is not goal-oriented
enough for one’s, and will likely drive them crazy.

 2. The Helper/ Giver
 Interpersonal relationships are key to 2’s, as they
always want to be seen supporting others to their
highest good. They are highly affectionate and
sensual souls who love to love.
 Fear: Not receiving love.
 Motivation: Being acknowledged and feeling
connection
 Most Compatible: Eight—motivates two’s to stand up for
themselves and move forward.
 Least Compatible: Four—may drain the two’s empathic
energy with their abundant needs.
 3. The Achiever/ Motivator
 Driven to continually succeed and advance. They are
great performers and rely heavily on outside validation.
Often they take high stress jobs where they are in the
spotlight.
 Fear: Not being valued.
 Motivation: Getting recognition, being the best.
 Most Compatible: Six—Brings playfulness to three’s
task-driven mind.
 Least Compatible: Nine—this type frustrates three’s
because they just don’t get enough done in a day
 4. The Individualist/Artist
 Highly artistic and creative folks. They hate the dull and
often create a juicy fantasy world. They experience rich
feelings and have demanding natures, but are also keen
understanders of their partners’ true spirits.
 Fear: Not being seen, disappearing.
 Motivation: To be authentic.
 Most Compatible: One—teaches four’s how to be
logical, making that check list and ticking it off.
 Least Compatible: Two—four’s have a tendency to
become overly codependent with type two’s.
 5. The Observer/Thinker
 Preferring to figure out the world on their own, five’s are
highly interested in their mind and solving problems by
investigation through it. Often loners, this type finds the
outer world slightly overwhelming.
 Fear: Inability to cope, victimhood.
 Motivation: Knowledge, proficiency.
 Most Compatible: Nine—gives five’s the space they desire
to mentally digest life. This pair respects each other’s
strong boundaries.
 Least Compatible: Eight—encourages aggression to come
out in five’s, and at times, overly spicy communication.
 6. The Loyalist/Inquisitive
 Extremely engaging and bright, these people get caught
up in looking to other’s opinions to guide their lives.
They are true friends and highly responsible to the point
of being anxious.
 Fear: Being unsupported, the future.
 Motivation: Finding courage, receiving clear guidance.
 Most Compatible: Nine—this type helps calm the
anxiety of the six.
 Least Compatible: Three—unfortunately, the three
may bring out six’s paranoia around not being
enough.
7. The Enthusiast/Generalist
 Always bubbling with activity, these folks like to execute
and plan projects. Being often excited about new ideas
and people means seven’s don’t sit with their inner-life
often. They also tend to love the finer things in life.
 Fear: Lacking, pain.
 Motivation: Finding satisfaction, new possibilities.
 Most Compatible: Five—will draw seven’s back into
themselves and help them ground.
 Least Compatible: One—seven’s can feel like this
type pushes their free spirit down.
 8. The Challenger/ Leader
 Keen on confrontation, honesty and self-reliance. This
type is highly willful and not afraid of showing their
passion through physical expression. They want to be
seen as singularly independent.
 Fear: Being under another’s control, weakness.
 Motivation: Protection of self, to be self-sufficient.
 Most Compatible: Two—models compassion and
connection to the pushy eight.
 Least compatible: Five—can bring out the latent
neurotic and paranoid tendencies of the eight.
 9. The Peacemaker/Mediator
 Sticks to the middle road in life. They are the mediators
and often the glue that bonds families and businesses.
Connection is important to them, and they show this
through their efforts to make everyone happy.
 Fear: Disconnection from others, unresolved conflict.
 Motivation: Achieving equanimity, feeling love.
 Most Compatible: Three—will push nine’s to achieve
more of their full potential.
 Least Compatible: Six—can push nine’s buttons with
their tendency to overthink things
 Actualization
“When we are less identified with our personality, we
find that we respond as needed to whatever life presents,
actualizing the positive potentials in all nine types,
bringing real peace, creativity, strength, joy, compassion,
and other positive qualities to whatever we are doing.”

(Riso and Hudson, 2003, 79)

Thus, our main goal in regard to the Enneagram
(and our personality) is to maintain balance by:
 avoiding over-identification with our dominant
type.
 integrating the strengths of each type as we
engage the world.
 Integration/Disintegration
Two lines connect to each type. Directions
indicate how a person responds under times of
stress or security.
 Direction of Integration (growth) = Behavior
when under control, secure.
 Direction of Disintegration (stress) = Behavior
under stress.
Direction of Integration (growth):

Healthy 1 behaves
like healthy 7,
a healthy 5 like an 8,
etc.
Sequence:
1-7-5-8-2-4-1
9-3-6-9
 Direction of Disintegration (stress):
Under stress, an average to
unhealthy 1 behaves
like average to unhealthy
4, an average to
unhealthy 2 like an
average to unhealthy 8,
etc.
Sequence:
1-4-2-8-5-7-1
9-6-3-9
 Goal
Ultimate Goal = Balance

 Integrate what each type symbolizes

 Acquire healthy potentials of all types
(“move around” the Enneagram)
 Draw on power of each personality type as
needed

(Riso and Hudson, 2003, 82)

 Balance Leads to Presence

Having balance in our personality

helps us to live authentically and
be fully present.
 Sources

Riso, Don R. and Russ Hudson. Discovering Your

Personality Type. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
2003.

www.enneagraminstitute.com

Encountering Silence Podcast:

www.encounteringsilence.com