The Enneagram is a powerful system for learning about ourselves and the people in our lives. The most widely used application is for building better relationships. Knowing about each personality type and how they see the world, their major concerns, and their communication style, helps us to be more empathic and effective. And in doing so we become more familiar with our own patterns and how we can bring awareness, kindness and skill to our relationships at home and at work.

Learning about our instincts and subtype can make a huge difference in our significant relationships. Over time, our subtype can be as important, or even more important, than our personality type! We have all three instincts, but when our primary focus is on self preservation, or one to one connecting, or social belonging – this shapes our primary concerns and goals in life, our habit of attention, and our style in relationships.

While there are 45 different combinations for the nine personality types, there are only 6 relationship combinations for the three subtype groups. In this workshop we will explore the benefits and the difficulties that show up and how we can build our capacity to connect and care with people of a different subtype as well as people of the same subtype. (We will be working with the subtypes as three groups rather than the 27 specific subtypes).

You will learn:

• Common patterns in the six relationship combinations; the pros and cons of different subtypes in relationships and for same subtype relationships.
• Practical suggestions for improving your relationships with each of the three subtype groups.
• What you need to know about your basic needs and priorities, and what to know about other people’s needs and priorities.
• How your instincts can be recognized and expressed in ways that best serve your relationships.

The format will include presentations, discussion and breakout groups. Each person will receive a digital copy of my “Subtypes in Relationships” handbook upon registering. You don’t have to know your subtype to attend, but basic enneagram knowledge is required. We won’t be covering each of the 27 subtypes in this one-day workshop but rather looking at the patterns of the three subtype groups: Self Preservation folks, Sexual or One to One people, and Socials.

My background – I have been working with instincts and subtypes since the late 1970’s, right after I learned about the nine personality types in ‘78. Over the years I have gotten to know each of the 27 subtypes well in both my personal life and professional practice as a counselor and body therapist. I’ve taught subtypes workshops in many places around the world over the years, often starting with a basic panel workshop and then following up with advanced workshops.

Panel Workshops

I continue to teach the Instincts & Subtypes panel workshop as part of the Narrative Enneagram program. This is the fundamental workshop for learning about the 27 subtypes through presentation and panel interviews. This wonderful part of the enneagram system shows us how we are formed by the intersection of spirit and biology, how our emotional habit combines with the instincts for better and worse, and how to understand the important variations within the nine personality types.

The chart above of the 27 instinctual subtypes is assembled from the work of Oscar Ichazo and the Arica School (with a few changes in language). We began using it in the early enneagram classes in Berkeley, California in the late 1970’s. This and other charts were first published by Helen Palmer in her book “The Enneagram” HarperOne 1988.