SUMMARY
Enneagram Type 2 (PDP Pattern 2) Personality and Wholeness in Therapy
Motivation: Bonding for Connection
Attendency: Outward
Primary Emotion: Separation-Distress/Sadness
Emotion Regulation Mode: Shift (Reframe and Redirect)
Enneagram Center of Intelligence and Knowing: Leads with Heart or Feeling Intuition, Knowing, and Perception, Internal Feeling States and Environment Associations
Anatomical Location of Initial Energy Flow: Heart/Solar Plexus
Enneagram Type: The Giver/Helper
Enneagram Type 2 (PDP Pattern 2) Core Dynamics in Therapy
The following sections use "type" rather than "pattern" as the descriptions come from David's writings.
Growth, integration and wholeness from habitual and reactive patterns to higher human capacities as a result of:
- relaxing the pattern
- renewed aspirational intentions
- moving from reactivity to pause/deep breath growth for 2
Flattery vs Will/Freedom – The Cognitive Dynamic, Growth, and Wholeness
- Flattery -- Cognitive Preoccupations and Habitual Narratives
- Pleasing and praising often excessively. Flattering the needs of significant others to make them feel special and attended to (in order to get). Manipulating with emotion. Repression of own needs.
- Will/Freedom -- Cognitive Higher Capacity
- Truly giving that which actually is needed. Unconditional love free to operate without attachment to the needs of self or others. Neither my will nor yours, but flowing with the will of universal law which provides.
Pride vs Humility – The Emotional Dynamic, Growth, and Wholeness
- Pride -- Emotional Drive, Tone and Reactivity
When reactive 2s experience pride or the belief that others are dependent on their giving, and Type 2’s resulting desire to be needed and indispensable. In Pride, Type 2’s assertive energy goes into manipulating others through emotion.
- Humility -- Emotional Higher Capacity
- Sense of what is appropriate to give and take. Thus not being indispensable. Giving and accepting equally without pride. Realizing the limits of giving. Knowing the position of humans in the larger cosmic sense of self or others. Neither my will nor yours, but flowing with the will of universal law which provides.
Enneagram Type 2 Synopsis
Brief Description
Type 2 believes you must give fully to others to be loved. Consequently, Type 2s are caring, helpful, supportive and relationship-oriented, but also can be prideful, overly intrusive and demanding.
Key Interventions
Help Type 2s develop, integrate and own the true separate self, and overcome the addiction to meeting the needs of others as a way to be cared for and loved.
Somatic Profile
As feeling types, Type 2s experience a buildup of energy, and sometimes tension around their chest, diaphragm and shoulders. Very empathic and attuned to others, they may restrict or suspend their breathing while waiting for other people's responses. Although full of energy and expressive in their upper bodies, it can be hard for them to sense their lower bodies and stay grounded. They tend to "spill over" and discharge their anxiety or uncontained emotional energy through talking and relating. It’s not uncommon for them to “somatize” or convert unacknowledged feelings into physical symptoms.
Communication Style
Friendly, open, other-focused and full of advice. Others may perceive you as intrusive, overly helpful, nagging or controlling.
Behavioral Profile
Strengths: Giving and generous, helpful, romantic, sensitive to others’ feelings, appreciative, supportive, energetic and exuberant, willing.
Difficulties: Overemphasis on relationships, especially challenging ones; making yourself vulnerable to rejection and loss, repression and indirect expression of your own real needs, which may lead to eruption of anger and emotion, manipulating others to get your own needs met, allowing your feelings to grow and overwhelm you (feelings such as hysteria, distress, and somatic complaints), repressing questions regarding your real self (e.g. who am I, really?), feeling controlled by others who have developed dependency issues, and longing for freedom.
What Triggers Reactivity in a Relationships
Feeling unappreciated or uncared for. Not being thanked for all that is given. Feeling uncaringly controlled. Having umet persoal needs and wants when having given others so much. Being rejected. Treated as dispensable and unnecessary. Being blocked from giving.
Social Profile
Type 2’s range from introverted to extraverted. However, due to their pleasing others energy trying to balance self and others, 2's tend to fall in the middle of the I-E scale (see energy flow Harmony Triads).
In addition, their social disposition is impacted by the three instinctual sub-types. Dominance toward self-survival or self-preservation is a focus based on me first which can lead to more introversion. Dominance toward bonding survival, the one-on-one focused relationships, tend to fall in the middle of the Introversion-Extraversion (I-E) scale. Dominance toward group survival, the social focus on groups and organizations, can lead to being more extraverted.
Enneagram Type 2 Basic Proposition and Loss of Wholeness in Childhood
Holy Freedom is that original state wherein needs are met by the greater universal will. That provides for us. Ultimately the entire mechanism of energy production upon which fulfillment of needs depends operates independently of human beings and rests upon universal laws. When we come to realize that real needs are provided for by this universal energy, sometimes called the "Grace of God," we come to know the proper position and limited power of the individual human will in this large cosmic context. The mother naturally provides for the infant in accordance with the gift of universal will. And we all depend on the planet to supply the resources for life. In essence energy for provisions doesn't come and go and all needs are met according to the same principle of universal will. When we realize this, giving and receiving occur without pride according to real worth and capacities. It is neither my will nor yours that provides but the greater will. When we grasp the relationship of the small individual will to the greater universal will, we obtain humility. We sense what is appropriate to give and take, giving and taking what is needed and no more. We have freedom--freedom to operate without attachment to the needs of self or other.
The original state of freedom wherein needs are met by the greater universal will. This understanding or truth is negated in the life of the Giver child. Someone's will impressed itself on your inner space saying this is a world based on to get love and approval you must fulfill my needs, my will. To survive, you as a Giver, had to forget your own rudimentary ability to respond to the higher will of essence. In its place you came to serve the will of others through your own little will. Consequently your original humility got replaced by a prideful energy wherein you fulfill the personal needs of important others through your own will. You become indispensable to them; with your prideful energy you know what they want and need. As a compensation, you become attached to fulfilling these needs in hopes that others will give back fulfilling your needs. You fall into a "need governed world" in which your own needs and wants get repressed, go into the background.
In the process you have replaced holy will with your own personal will. You now provide for others, fulfill needs. Your will does it, not "God’s will." Your personality mimics original essence in the never ending effort to meet the needs of others so that you believe your own needs will be met and you will become free. In order to do this your attention naturally goes to focusing selectively on wants and needs of others, especially key others. And there is no dearth (shortage) of needs to fulfill! You must feel and respond to the emotional state of others, stay in connection with them, alter your own emotional state and behavior to match to their needs and will. You have an open heart that spills out the energy of active force in the present situation. How else could pride operate successfully? You are in control. You reference yourself to others, not to yourself. You gain the love and approval of others and repress your separate self and needs. In order to keep connection and love, you become dependent on others being dependent upon you. And so it goes.
What Wholeness Looks Like for Enneagram Type
What does greater wholeness look like when those with Enneagram Type 2 make their way on the journey of self-study and growth?
- Moving from a cognitive preoccupation that others need me and I need to give to them to a cognitive awareness that the world naturally gives and takes
- Moving from emotional pride with others to an internal emotional humility
