What the Enneagram Can Teach Us

One of the most powerful tools a wellness coach can offer is reflection: holding up a mirror so a client can see themselves more clearly. Personality assessments, used thoughtfully and ethically, can support that process well. Among them, the Enneagram has grown popular for the way it shines a light on what we do and, underneath that, why we do it.

There are many Enneagram tests online. Some are short and free, meant to give a quick snapshot. Others are longer, more nuanced, and sometimes a little overwhelming. For clients, the appeal is usually simple: “I want to understand myself better.” Whether someone is moving through a life transition, coming out of burnout, or just craving clarity, people arrive at coaching looking for answers, and the Enneagram can offer a compassionate, structured place to begin that inquiry.

As a coach, I use personality assessments less to diagnose or label than to listen. They give clients language for internal patterns they may have sensed for years but never quite put into words. They also let me catch a glimpse of how someone thinks, feels, and defends against stress, so I can meet them with curiosity rather than assumption. Studies have shown that personality assessments, used appropriately, can improve self-awareness and strengthen the coaching relationship by creating a shared understanding of behavior and motivation.¹

Of the many Enneagram tools out there, I most often recommend two: the RHETI® from The Enneagram Institute, and the suite of Enneagram tests from Truity. Each has a distinct advantage, and both, in my experience, help clients feel seen in a way that matters.

Note: I am not a sponsor of or affiliate with either organization.

My preferred assessments

Let me start with the RHETI®, the Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator, created by The Enneagram Institute. It is one of the few Enneagram assessments that has been through peer-reviewed research for reliability and validity.² What sets it apart is its forced-choice format. Instead of rating statements on a scale, the test asks you to choose between two options that are equally true, or equally hard to admit. That tends to cut down on response bias, like quietly picking the answer we wish were true, and it produces a more accurate result, especially for people who are already self-aware or introspective.

Then there is Truity, which offers a friendlier experience and presents results with rich visuals and detailed reports. One reason I reach for Truity’s Enneagram assessments so often is the clarity they give clients. The reports are accessible and intuitive, with thorough overviews of the types, their overlaps with other types, and their core motivations, fears, and growth areas. They also offer focused insights, such as how your type might relate to career preferences or to the way you handle relationships, which is useful context for coaching conversations about work-life balance, boundaries, and purpose.

In my work, I have found that Truity’s tests tend to land with clients who are just beginning to define their Life Narrative, while the RHETI® tends to connect with clients who are more internally reflective or who enjoy psychological depth. Each tool has its place. Neither one hands you an absolute truth, but both give you a structured lens to begin exploring who you are beyond your habits and roles.

These assessments do their best work when paired with compassionate conversation. That is why I use them inside my Life Narrative service, where we weave together personality insights, personal stories, and values clarification to help you discover who you are innately, what your gifts are, and how you might start to put words to a vision for your life that feels honest, alive, and truly your own.

Why I coach with them

Let me be clear about one thing: personality assessments, especially the Enneagram, are not diagnostic tools. As an NBHWC-trained coach, I use them less to label or pathologize than to support self-inquiry and client-led exploration. They are an entry point, a framework that invites you to look at your tendencies, values, and emotional patterns in a way that feels safe and structured.

Research suggests that personality assessments can improve coaching outcomes by helping clients clarify goals and gain insight into their own behavior and decision-making.³ The Enneagram is unusual in that it maps both the strengths and the pitfalls of each type, offering a growth path rather than a fixed identity.⁴ That makes it a natural fit for wellness coaching, which is oriented toward forward movement, possibility, and resilience.

In sessions, these insights can spark small moments of recognition. “That is exactly what I do when I feel stressed.” Or: “I have always felt that way and never had words for it.” From there we can ask the deeper questions, about where a pattern came from, whether it still serves you, and how you might want to show up differently from here.

Inside the Life Narrative service, tools like the RHETI® and Truity’s Enneagram become part of a larger, whole-life process. Together we look at your story: your values and virtues, the abilities you were born with and the ones you have earned, how you have adapted to your environment, what drives you, and what holds you back. The goal is less to fix you than to help you remember who you have always been underneath the ambiguity. Through that work, clients often begin to reclaim their authenticity and build a life that reflects what is true for them.

In a world that keeps rushing us to fix, optimize, or prove ourselves, taking the time to explore who we are, with curiosity and care, is a quietly radical act. The Enneagram will not hand you all the answers. But it gives you a strong place to start.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.