Conscious and Unconscious Interpersonal Complexity in The Narrative Enneagram Workshop Participants

Abstract

This research employed a mixed methods design to explore the potential relationship between conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity. Thirty four participants from The Narrative Enneagram (TNE) workshops were recruited for this study. The first group consisted of participants who only experienced 24 hours of TNE workshops which happened to be online during the time of the covid 19 pandemic. The second group consisted of participants who experienced over 90 hours of in-person TNE workshops throughout their lifetime. For the quantitative phase of the study, The Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT) was used to measure conscious interpersonal complexity while the Archetypal Test of the Nine Elements (AT.9) was used to measure unconscious interpersonal complexity. Results showed a significant positive correlation between conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity. More particularly, participants who experienced over 90 hours of in-person TNE workshops had significant higher scores on both conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity compared to participants who only experienced 24 hours of TNE workshops online. For the qualitative phase of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted on 6 of the original participants (i.e. 3 from the 24 online TNE hours group and 3 from the 90+ TNE hours group). Themes pertaining to conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity experienced through the TNE workshops were analyzed through Descriptive Phenomenological Analysis. Some of the major themes from the interviews consisted of how the TNE workshop were a safe space for people to process and become aware of deeper parts of their personality in a supportive community led by seasoned Enneagram teachers. The communal processing with other TNE participants was felt to be a significant factor for growth in conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity in a way that humanized others and helped the participants relate to them. This study concludes with implications for incorporating conscious and unconscious interpersonal complexity in future research and clinical practice.