503 SelfWork: Important Insights Into How to Interpret the Enneagram with Courtney Smith

Here are the most used mental health inventories (And I used the ChatGBT bot for this list!)

1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-3)

• One of the most widely used clinical personality assessments.
• Used by psychologists to assess personality structure and mental health symptoms.
• Helps identify conditions such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and other psychological concerns.
• Strong research support.

2. Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)

• Commonly used in clinical, forensic, and counseling settings.
• Measures personality traits and psychological symptoms.
• Strong evidence base.

3. Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI)

• Designed specifically to assess personality disorders and clinical syndromes.
• Often used when personality pathology is a concern.

4. NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-3)

• Measures the “Big Five” personality traits:
  • Openness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extraversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism
• Strong scientific support.
• Often used in research and counseling rather than diagnosis.

I used several of these in graduate school and particularly liked the Millon inventory for my dissertation research.

Popular but Less Clinically Supported Tests

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

• Very popular in workplaces, coaching, and personal development.
• Classifies people into 16 personality types.
• Psychologists often criticize it for limited reliability and validity.
• Rarely used in clinical mental health assessment.

Enneagram

• Yes, the Enneagram is one of the most popular personality systems in the general public.
• Describes nine personality types and their motivations.
• Common in coaching, spiritual development, leadership training, and self-reflection.

However:

• It is not considered a mainstream clinical assessment tool.
• Research support is much weaker than for the Big Five, MMPI, or PAI.
• Most psychologists would not use the Enneagram to diagnose or assess mental health conditions.
• Some therapists find it useful as a framework for discussing patterns, motivations, and relationships, but it is generally viewed as a personal-growth tool rather than a validated psychological test.

How to interpret the enneagram for personal growth… 

Courtney Smith also stated in this episode that she uses the enneagram along with other tools (that she didn’t identify specifically) when she’s working with a client. And that’s the best way to use it. First, it can be important to have someone guiding you who’s an enneagram or personality inventory expert. Second, you want to use several different instruments to more fully understand how all that data fits together – or contradicts. Third, those contradictions often reflect the complexity of the human condition.