The Enneagram Professional Training Program™
Frequently Asked Questions
 What is the Enneagram Professional Training Program™ (EPTP)?
Who designed the program?
What is the EPTP like?
Who attends the EPTP?
What does it take to become certified as an Enneagram Teacher in the Narrative Tradition?
How does this training program compare to other Enneagram training programs?
If I graduate from this training will I be able to make an income as an Enneagram teacher?
Anything else I should know about the EPTP?
What is the Enneagram Professional Training Program (EPTP)?
The four-section Enneagram Professional Training Program™ (EPTP) is designed for those who would like to pursue teacher certification or use the Enneagram in their professional practice or workplace.
Top of page
Who designed the program? Who are Helen Palmer and David Daniels?
Helen Palmer is one of the world's best-known Enneagram teachers and authors. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Trifold School of Enneagram Studies™ along with David Daniels, M.D. A teacher of psychology and intuition, Helen has been committed to bridging personal and spiritual realities for 30 years.
Helen is the author of five highly acclaimed books in the field of human consciousness. The Enneagram and The Enneagram in Love and Work are perennial international bestsellers, now in 21 languages, and her Enneagram books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide. Helen was featured in the PBS documentary, Breaking Out of the Box: Discovering the Enneagram.
David Daniels, M.D. is a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford Medical School and co-author of The Essential Enneagram. In private practice for more than three decades, David has taught the Enneagram system at Stanford, in the community and internationally for 15 years. He brings his knowledge of the Enneagram to individuals, couples and groups, and to a wide range of applications in clinical practice and the workplace.
Top of page
What is the EPTP like?
Groups of 20 to 50 people come together at retreat centers around the world to spend six days doing intensive Enneagram work. The teaching method is based on the Narrative Tradition, meaning that the Enneagram is taught primarily through the interview method. Much of the workshop consists of panels for each Enneagram type made up of people in the workshop who share their experience of what it's like to be that particular type. The training also includes meditative and movement practices, which support people in developing a strong “inner observer” and being grounded in their bodies.
During the first workshop, The Enneagram Intensive, trainees who have completed the first two sections and are in the process of certifying as teachers conduct some of the panel interviewing. So there is a wonderful mix of learning about the Enneagram, people on panels sharing their life experience, and a smaller group of certification candidates who interview the panels while they get feedback and coaching from the instructors.
The second workshop, Foundations of Spiritual Method and the Typing Process, also includes panels but with a focus on higher states and using the Enneagram for personal growth. In the section on the typing interview, participants learn and then practice interviewing people from the community to help them find their Enneagram type.
Top of page
Who attends the Enneagram Professional Training Program?
Any serious student of the Enneagram is welcome. Participants include therapists, counselors, physicians, nurses, business managers, coaches, trainers, spiritual directors, clergy, teachers, parents and others on a path of personal transformation.
Top of page
What does it take to become certified as an Enneagram Teacher in the Narrative Tradition?
The Enneagram Professional Training Program curriculum consists of four sections. First you attend the Enneagram Intensive™, a six-day course integrating psychological life and spirit. This is followed by another six-day workshop, Foundations of Spiritual Method and the Typing Process. These first two sections may be taken together back to back, but most people attend the first session and then return in six months to a year for the second.
The third part of the training is an internship process, where trainees practice typing and panel interviews with the support and feedback of an experienced supervisor or mentor. The student conducts 18 typing interviews and two panel practice sessions, half of which are coached by the supervisor or mentor. These sessions focus on both technical skills and self-management of the interview and inquiry process.
When you have finished your typing internship you return to the Enneagram Intensive™ as a certifying candidate. During this session you interview two different Enneagram panels with support and feedback from staff. Candidates also demonstrate typing skills and receive additional instruction. Most trainees do quite well and receive a Certificate of Completion and eligibility to use the Licensed Teaching Materials Package. If people have trouble meeting expectations or run into difficulty at the training, the staff will work with them to fulfill the requirements and become certified at a later time.
Top of page
How does this training program compare to other Enneagram training programs?
This training created by Helen Palmer and David Daniels is the world’s longest running Enneagram training program. In the 14 years that this training has been held, approximately one thousand people have participated. Several hundred graduates around the world are certified as Enneagram teachers.
The EPTP’s foundation in the Narrative Tradition creates a unique learning environment by using panel interviews as the main method of teaching. Theory is always tied to people's personal experience. The training is also different in its emphasis on developing the inner observer and understanding our “point bias,” which is how we tend to make projections on other people rather than seeing them for who they are. The instructors are not only excellent teachers, they also have decades of experience working with individuals, which is reflected in their practical application of the Enneagram to daily life.
Top of page
If I graduate from this training will I be able to make an income as an Enneagram teacher?
While there is no guarantee that you will be able to make money as an Enneagram teacher, most graduates find that it provides a big boost to their existing careers. Many people do teach Enneagram classes in their community or organization. Some graduates have made the Enneagram the major focus of what they do professionally. Most use it as part of their existing practice as a counselor, manager or consultant. Whether or not you go on to teach Enneagram classes, the skills and knowledge that you learn in this training will support your professional success.
Top of page
Anything else I should know about the EPTP?
One of the benefits of participating in the EPTP is that you are invited to join our teachers association, either as an associate member (after completing the Enneagram Intensive) or as a certified teacher (when you complete the entire training). The Enneagram Teachers Association in the Narrative Tradition (AET) is a network more than 400 people worldwide who are committed to the Enneagram work in various fields.
Enneagram Professional Training Program™ curriculum, tuition and registration
Top of page
|
