Episode 80: IFS and the Enneagram, with Tammy Sollenberger
Are you familiar with the Enneagram? The "test" that views personality as nine interconnected types? I wasn't, until about three years ago. And even then, I took an online test, bought a book, read the chapter that corresponded with my "type," and never looked at it again.
But....
I've had parts in the background of my mind who have been curious about it. And every time I see one of Tammy Sollenbergers' posts about the Enneagram or a new group that she's starting to help you incorporate the Enneagram and IFS I think, "I need to look at that again."
So I decided to reach out to Tammy and ask her to come on to the podcast to talk about it. And thankfully, she agreed!
Tammy Sollenberger is an IFS therapist and the host of the One Inside Podcast. She's also the author of The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self. And she co-leads a course with Joan Ryan, an Enneagram expert, on using IFS and the Enneagram to "observe your patterns, unblend from parts, and make new choices."
In this week's podcast Tammy and I talk about the Enneagram and how well it integrates with IFS. Both models can help you to know yourself at a much deeper level, but using them together can add even more awareness and understanding. And, at least for me, knowing that there are aspects of my personality that are hard-wired to see the world in a certain way, at least to some degree, helps my parts to be much less critical of how I think and what I do.
In this episode, Tammy talks about how each part has a "focus of attention," meaning a certain thing that really matters the most to them, and she goes through each type and explains that focus. She also explains how our parts will respond differently to things based on our Enneagram type. Like you and I could have the exact same experience, but if our types are different, our parts will react differently.
AND, we get into a discussion about how the Enneagram can help you understand your relationship with food. Tammy was able to speak to this but also connected me with Joan Ryan, an Enneagram expert, who'll be coming onto the podcast to take a much deeper dive into this.
It's all pretty fascinating, if you ask me.
And I think the combination of IFS and the Enneagram can lead to much deeper self-understanding, and ultimately a deeper level of healing. Sign me up!
If all of that sounds interesting to you, take a listen!
Where to find Tammy:
https://tammysollenberger.com/
Joan Ryan's Type Cards: https://creativecollaborations.net/product/help-me-find-my-enneagram-type/
The book we discuss
My upcoming workshop series
Food and Body Freedom for Therapists and Practitioners
Food and Body Freedom for Non-Therapists
Where to find me:
Click below to listen!