Katherine Chernick Fauvre on Type 6

I am pleased to note that Katherine Chernick Fauvre has made her way to our humble blog. (Granted, I pointed it out to her, but still...) Here's what she had to say about the blog, the difficulty of typing 6s, and her Enneacards Tests:

"Thank you, I appreciate your reference. Typing is an intriguing process. I I loved the 6 observation. Friendly, funny and nervous certainly is 6 from the outside...... I'm sure that is why 6s make great comedians. In my experience, the phobic 6 tends to know that they are a 6 earlier that the counter-phobic 6. [From the Enneagram Institute website: "Sixes tend to use two different methods of coping with their anxiety: a phobic response or a counterphobic response. Sixes who are more phobic often deal with their fears through a dependent stance. They are more aware of their anxiety and turn quickly to others, particularly authority figures, for support...Sixes who are more counterphobic are much more likely to question, or even rebel against authorities. They are quicker to confront others and are more prone to suspiciousness than phobic Sixes. They are more determined to be independent and resist turning to others for support. " -- Cindi] The one that has the most difficulty is the social 6."

[If you don't know what a "social 6" is, check out this link on instincts. -- C]

More from Katherine:

"Both 6 and 9 struggle with identifying themselves in testing instruments as doubt is built into the defense strategy. As you know, 6s seek certainty and 9s have the believer/doubter dichotomy. They also both tend to seek balance. In the complete Enneacards Test, only the 6 (and sometimes 9) will choose one card in one selection and another in the second sort. When interviewed they say that they are trying to be fair and it depends on the situation, knowing that they can be either. They do best taking the sampler test 3 times as they relax and feel more comfortable choosing the 6 cards. Since it is free, I recommend it to everyone as it is a process in and of itself.
I have found that the 6 might relate to the responsibility of the type 1, the helpfulness and giving of type 2, the professionalism of type 3, the romantic nature of the type 4, the reserve of the 5, the flexibility and optimism of type 7, the fight for justice of the type 8, and the humbleness of type 9 with the cautiousness and/or rebelliousness type 6. The social 6 is the only type that uses all of these words. The social 6 also has tremendous difficulty confirming their type as they can be any of these qualities... because for them, it truly does depend of the situation.
The 9 tends to identify with aspects of many of the types as well. I find that 3, 6 and 9 all seek this balance as they are the primary types [central types of each emotional triad -- C] and out of touch with the focus of their center i.e., the 3 modulates feeling to keep doing, the 6 doubts what they know and the 9 is passive-aggressive rather than showing their anger. The 3 seeks balance by trying to adapt to people and situations so as to be seen in a positive light. The 3, however, is strongly identified with being successful so they do not struggle as much as the 6 and the 9 in confirming their type.
The Enneagram is a wonderful system and I never tire of learning more about the subtle distinctions within type. The Trifix [according to the Enneagram Explorations site, a person's trifix is his or her "dominant Enneagram type in each of the three centers: head, heart, and gut." -- C] research has yielded incredible data about out we see ourselves. Since the potential Trifix is given in the complete Enneacards Test, I am able to correlate the data with the Enneaspread. It is in the Enneaspread that we can see the 6 even if they do not choose 6 as their final card. In all fairness to the 6s, their defense strategy is to be evasive to stay safe. The 6 Enneaspread will have a 'poker' hand of cards that are consistently inconsistent. The inconsistency is the pattern. For example, their last two cards may be 5 and 7 which are their wings. The Enneaspread and Trifix will have the 6 in it but not necessarily as their first choices. Usually, in the Trifix it is the third choice. The combination of information is very revealing. For example, a 6 that has the 694 Trifix tends to be even more doubting and reserved as a 6 than the 683 which is more assertive and confident. The social 694 is often shy even if extroverted. And, if they are a ENFP they are often quite romantic and 7ish, the INTJ is more 5ish and withdrawn. Add the instincts and it yields a lot of information.
Good luck with your blog,
Katherine Chernick Fauvre"

[If you are interested in more correlations between the Enneagram and Myers-Briggs typology, check out "The Enneagram and the MBTI: an Electronic Journal." There is a wealth of info available there. -- C]