The Enneagram as a Tool for Resident Wellness and Correlation With Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestone Achievements.

INTRODUCTION: The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system developed to improve self-knowledge. Broken down into nine personality types, each is driven by a core motivating factor. Other personality assessments have been used to study the personality profile of surgeons. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the variability in Enneagram type among a single institution's general surgery residents. METHODS: All categorical general surgery residents at a single institution completed an online Enneagram assessment as part of a wellness initiative. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestone levels for professionalism (PRO) and interpersonal and communication skills were collected for each resident's intern year. Milestone levels were compared between the nine Enneagram types. RESULTS: All nine Enneagram types were represented among surveyed residents. The most frequent Enneagram type was type 3 (20.69%). There was no significant difference between PRO (P = 0.322) and interpersonal and communication skills (P = 0.645) scores among residents distributed by Enneagram type. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of core Enneagram type, general surgery residents in this study all achieved appropriate Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestone levels for entry level of training. The Enneagram can provide self-awareness and understanding of resident differences but does not impact initial assessment of competency in PRO and interpersonal communication skills.

The Enneagram: A systematic review of the literature and directions for future research.

The Enneagram is a typology that many clients use to understand their personality and interpersonal patterns, despite some concerns about its validity. Thus, the purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive and clinician-friendly review of the extant empirical work on the Enneagram. After reviewing 104 independent samples, we found mixed evidence of reliability and validity. In terms of strengths, some factor analytic work has shown partial alignment with prior theorizing, and subscales show theory-consistent relationships with other constructs such as the Big 5. Also, several studies found the Enneagram was helpful for personal/spiritual growth. However, factor analytic work has typically found fewer than nine factors, and no work has used clustering techniques to derive the nine types. Also, there is little research supporting secondary aspects of Enneagram theory, such as wings and intertype movement. We conclude by highlighting directions for future research and implications for clinical practice.

The Enneagram and its application in medical education.

Personality testing has become increasingly popular in healthcare with multiple modalities and implementations. Although personality testing has been utilized to inform various facets of graduate medical education, little is known about how the Enneagram can be utilized throughout postgraduate training. This narrative review explores the use of personality testing in graduate medical education, how personality testing has been used in the workplace, what research is available showing its use in medical residencies, and the need for additional studies on the Enneagram's use in these areas. We conclude the Enneagram may serve as a valuable tool that can be used in postgraduate medical education to improve learning, interpersonal relationships, and teaming.

Enhancing Enneagram Therapy with Contemporary Research on the Conscious and Unconscious Mind.

The Enneagram is a personality framework with ancient philosophical underpinnings and cross cultural roots. It outlines nine different pathways of growth for nine different personalities. In recent years, it has started to gain traction in the peer reviewed level of research. Since the Enneagram has a conceptual versatility in addressing various levels and dimensions of the human psyche, it can both contribute and benefit from cross pollinating its insights with the latest scientific research on how the human mind works. One area of research that has the potential for this type of symbiotic partnership with the Enneagram is the study of the interaction between the conscious and unconscious mind. There is rich potential for the multi-leveled integration of contemporary findings on how the conscious and unconscious mind mutually interact with one another along with insights into personality structures from the Enneagram. These integrative insights have clinical implications and create possible directions for future research.

Enneagram typologies and healthy personality to psychosocial stress: A network approach.

Introduction: Enneagram typologies may impact psychological well-being and stressful situations in college students. However, the literature is still limited in the study of dynamic personality models such as the Enneagram in Spanish-speaking university students, and a better understanding is needed. Objective: To analyze network associations and centrality measures of Enneagram personality typologies in Peruvian university students. Methods: A total of 859 Peruvian university students responded to two instruments assessing: The Pangrazzi's Enneagram personality types and healthy personality to psychosocial stress. All instruments showed good psychometric values (validity and consistency). A regularized cross-sectional network structure was estimated with Gaussian graphical model and the graphical LASSO. Results: Enneagram types 4, 5, and 6 presented the highest and positive associations in the network structure. Type 6 emerged as the node with the highest predictability. The healthy personality and type 7 acted as bridges between the communities, with types 6, 7, and 8 being the most central nodes. Conclusion: The findings suggest that Enneagram type 7 with healthy personality to psychosocial stress plays an important role in the development of the causal activation of the network model. The network shows causal associations between psychosocial stress and types 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Entelechy Regained? Further Musings on a Quantised Gyroscopic Metaphor for the Vital Force in Health and Dis-Ease.

BACKGROUND: Many complementary and alternative medicine modalities consider the vital force (Vf) an organism's source of health and healing, Hahnemann's notion of the Vf having similarities with quantum systems. Thus, the Vf is only indirectly observable via expressed symptoms: a quantum property is only indirectly observable via its observed experimental effects. OBJECTIVE: To develop further a quantised gyroscopic metaphor of the Vf in which dis-ease slows axial rotation, causing the Vf to precess (i.e., express symptoms). The curative remedy accelerates axial rotation, throwing off the dis-ease, so precession (and symptom expression) cease. METHOD: Using earlier wave functions depending solely on observed patient symptoms and changes to them, 6 further wave functions are generated, representing the Vf in various states of dis-ease and health. RESULTS: All 6 Vf wave functions can be arranged on 6 of the 9 points of an enneagram, the other 3 representing the practitioner. CONCLUSION: Transformations between the 6 Vf states are readily visualised. They may also be divided into two groups separated by a therapeutic "event horizon," the practitioner being the "arbiter" between them. Thus, they could represent non-reductive information states, suitable as starting points for understanding the influence of consciousness on the therapeutic process.

Is enneagram personality system able to predict perceived risk of heart disease and readiness to lifestyle modification?

Background: Studying personality traits and patterns is of significant importance in adopting healthy behaviors. Therefore, the current study investigates the relationship between Enneagram personality types and perceived risk of heart disease and readiness to lifestyle modification. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 190 noncardiac patients (82.3% female) in an outpatient clinic in western Iran were selected using a simple random sampling method to fill out standard questionnaires. The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. Results: The findings show that the performer personality (Type 3) can directly predict increasing readiness to lifestyle modification (P < 0.001). In contrast, there is a reverse significant relationship between the challenger personality (Type 8) and readiness to lifestyle modification (P = 0.019). Moreover, the helper personality (Type 6) is able to directly predict increasing the perceived risk of heart disease (P = 0.012). Conclusions: In the Enneagram system, unique personality types possess a unique risk perception and readiness to adopt healthy behaviors. The results of the current study can provide valuable information for healthy lifestyle programs professionals with regard to preventing cardiovascular diseases.

Advancing Ego Development in Adulthood Through Study of the Enneagram System of Personality.

A rapidly growing number of working professionals, academic communities, and businesses have applied the Enneagram personality system of nine types to enhance psychological growth in their personal and professional lives. However, there are no existing studies that measure the effects of the application of Enneagram training programs to promote ego development. This study examined if ego development took place among individuals enrolled in Enneagram training programs in the Narrative Tradition. Two groups of participants (N = 122) were assessed using the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) at baseline (pretest) before the training began and then again 18 months later (posttest); one of the groups participated in Enneagram Intensive training programs (n = 73) and the other group participated in introductory Enneagram trainings (n = 49). Data revealed an advancement in ego development among some of the participants who received at least 40-50 h of training. The findings suggest that Enneagram Intensive trainings may be beneficial for promoting psychological growth and ego development. Clinical applications and future research directions are discussed.

[Effectiveness of enneagram group counseling for self-identification and depression in nursing college students].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of enneagram group counseling program on self-identification and depression in nursing college students. Three groups, categorized by how the students solve their conflicts, were selected to identify changes from the program. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group and pre posttest design was used. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=30) or control group (n=33). The experimental group participated in enneagram group counseling program for 38 hours through eight sessions covering four different topics. Collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Total self-identity score for the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups for depression scores. The Assertive and Compliant groups demonstrated significant change in self-identification while the Withdrawn groups did not reveal any change. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the enneagram group counseling program is very effective in establishing positive self-identification for nursing college students who face developmental crisis and stressful situations. It is also expected that this program would be useful to enhance the students' confidence through a deeper understanding and acceptance of themselves.

The Effects of an Enneagram Program on Codependency, Anger, and Interpersonal Relationship in Wives of Alcoholics / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an Enneagram program (EP) and examine the effects on codependency, anger and interpersonal relationship in wives of alcoholics. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group pre-posttest design was used. Participants were 26 wives of alcoholics (experimental group: 12, control group: 14). From March 17 to August 18, 2014, six two-hour sessions of EP were provided to the experimental group over six weeks. Data were collected using the Codependency Recovery Potential Survey (CRPS), Korean State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-K) and Relationship Change Scale (RCS). and analyzed using PASW 18.0 with Fisher's exact test, t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The experimental group showed lower scores for codependency (Z=-2.17, p=.030) and anger (Z=-2.43, p=.015) than the control group. However, there was no significant difference in interpersonal relationship score between two groups. CONCLUSION: The EP for wives of alcoholics was effective in improving codependency and anger. A randomized clinical trial is needed to confirm the value of this EP.

Effects of Enneagram Program for Self-esteem, Interpersonal Relationships, and GAF in Psychiatric Patients / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an enneagram program and to investigate the effects of the enneagram program on self-esteem, interpersonal relationship and GAF(Global assessment of Functioning Scale) in psychiatric patients. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group pre-post test design was used. Participants were 46 psychiatric patients. Participants were assigned to the experimental group(n=21) or control group(n=25). The experimental group participated in the enneagram program for 12 hours through eight sessions. The control group(n=25) received a routine nursing activity program. RESULTS: The experimental group that participated in the enneagram program showed higher scores for self-esteem(t=3.73, p=.001), interpersonal relationship(t=2.63, p=.012) and GAF(t=2.43, p=.019) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that an enneagram program for psychiatric patients is effective in improving self-esteem, interpersonal relationship and overall functioning skills. Therefore, it is suggested that an active use of this enneagram program as a nursing intervention for psychiatric patients would be beneficial.

Effectiveness of Enneagram Group Counseling for Self-identification and Depression in Nursing College Students

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of enneagram group counseling program on self-identification and depression in nursing college students. Three groups, categorized by how the students solve their conflicts, were selected to identify changes from the program. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group and pre posttest design was used. Participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=30) or control group (n=33). The experimental group participated in enneagram group counseling program for 38 hours through eight sessions covering four different topics. Collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: Total self-identity score for the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups for depression scores. The Assertive and Compliant groups demonstrated significant change in self-identification while the Withdrawn groups did not reveal any change. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the enneagram group counseling program is very effective in establishing positive self-identification for nursing college students who face developmental crisis and stressful situations. It is also expected that this program would be useful to enhance the students' confidence through a deeper understanding and acceptance of themselves.