Do you find your personal relationships harmonious and satisfying? What about your professional relationships? Do you trust others? Can they trust you? Can you accomplish what you want without offending others? Do you find yourself giving up your wishes to "keep the peace" and then getting frustrated later? Do you often feel misunderstood or left out? Do you feel like you have good ideas and can see how things should be done, but that others won't follow your lead?

These questions are based on the tendencies of different personality types as expressed and explained by the Enneagram.

Most people have experienced at least one of these issues. I have used the Enneagram in my work with countless individuals and have found it to be an invaluable tool in helping my clients discover their life purpose, achieve their goals, and experience all the joy life has to offer.

Nine Paths to Better Understanding Ourselves & Others

All of us are unique individuals, yet we all exhibit similar behaviors and say similar things. But these actions and words don't necessarily mean the same things to each of us. Our underlying motivations, perceptions, understandings, and beliefs are very different and can depend a great deal on the tendencies of our particular personalities.

By gaining insight and understanding about what underlies our own and others' words and deeds, we have a much better chance of interacting positively with others and making sure our own needs are met.

The Enneagram is a numerical system symbolized by a circle with nine points connected in a distinctive pattern of intersecting lines that has been around for centuries. However, it has been applied to the understanding of different personality types only in the last century or so.

As a system designed to provide insight into human personalities, the Enneagram represents a dynamic map that reveals the different ways we organize experience and find meaning in our lives. It describes nine distinct patterns of attitude and behavior and reveals the underlying motivations for why we think and behave the way we do.

The knowledge of the different personality styles of the Enneagram helps formulate a foundation for a better understanding of ourselves. But more than this, understanding the Enneagram can help us experience healthier relationships by understanding the needs and perspectives of those we care about and love.

Over the course of the past decade, I have received extensive training in the use of the Enneagram as a powerful tool that helps people understand themselves and others and effect positive change. The Enneagram has proven effective enough to become a focal point of the work I do in helping my clients live healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

How Using the Enneagram Can Help You

Should we decide to work together, and after we discuss what it is that brought you to therapy, we will use the Enneagram to help ascertain what personality type and subtype you have.

Once your type and subtype are determined, the Enneagram can help locate and recognize the thoughts and behaviors you have that are beneficial and detrimental in your life.

For example, if you have thoughts and behaviors that have become compulsive or addictive, these make up what is known as the "trance" for a given Enneagram type. If you've found yourself fighting with a loved one in the same way over and over and are well aware that it isn't getting you what you want but can't seem to find alternatives or put them into practice, this is because you are operating from a "trance" state.

As the unhelpful thoughts and behaviors are acknowledged, we can work together to incorporate new truths into your life that you can use to enact more beneficial beliefs and actions.

For example, if I'm working with a couple, creating and enacting these new truths can help both partners see their own and each others' trances, find ways of overcoming them, and create healthier more joyous ways of experiencing life together.

In short, the Enneagram helps make vague perceptions and abstract concepts concrete so they can be discussed, acknowledged, worked with, and used to benefit our relationships and our lives!

If you're interested in learning more about the Enneagram, how I use it in my work, and how it may be able to help you understand yourself and those around you, I encourage you to contact me at 408-257-2515, or by e-mail at sara@sarawesttherapy.com. I look forward to speaking with you and answering your questions!