The nine Enneagram countertypes

Each Enneagram type comes in three subtypes, one for each instinct: Self-Preservation (SP), Social (SO) and Sexual or One-to-One (SX). In two of the three, the instinct and the type's core passion push in the same direction, and the subtype looks like the type.

In the third, the instinct pushes against the passion. That subtype is the countertype. CP Enneagram Academy, run by Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes, describes it as the one that "doesn't look like the others and goes against the main energetic direction of the passion."

The idea comes from Claudio Naranjo's subtype teaching. It reached a wide readership through Chestnut's The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge (She Writes Press, 2013). The short version sits on the instincts page; this page goes through all nine.

General type descriptions tend to follow the subtypes that fit the picture. A countertype reads that description and finds little of themselves in it. The usual next step is to cross the type off.

The motivation is still there. It has been turned against, held back, or redirected by the instinct. A Four whose longing has gone into quiet endurance won't recognize a portrait of visible melancholy. A Six who handles fear by charging at it won't recognize a portrait of caution.

So a description that misses on behaviour settles nothing. The test is the reason underneath: what you are protecting, pursuing or avoiding when you act that way.

Subtype names in the table are Chestnut and Paes's. Codes use the common shorthand: SP, SO or SX, then the type number.

The usual One holds anger in and lets it out as calm correction. The Sexual One lets the heat show, and aims it at improving a partner, a project or a cause. It can read as zeal or reforming passion, far from the self-controlled Reformer.

Underneath is the same drive: the gap between how things are and how they should be feels like something that must be closed. Type One subtypes.

The usual Two is seen giving. The Self-Preservation Two draws care toward themselves, through charm and a likability that makes others want to look after them. It can look self-focused, and an SP2 may not see themselves as a helper at all.

What stays: love is secured by being wanted, and their own needs come out sideways. Type Two subtypes.

The usual Three is visibly polished and self-promoting. The Self-Preservation Three works hard, avoids the spotlight and says image doesn't matter much to them.

What stays: they still need to be seen as good. The image has become competence, reliability and self-sufficiency, an image that doesn't look like one. Type Three subtypes.

The usual Four shows the ache. The Self-Preservation Four carries it without comment, builds a high tolerance for hardship, and can look stoic, practical and uncomplaining.

What stays: the sense that something essential is missing. Endurance is where the longing goes. Type Four subtypes. See Enneagram 4 vs 5.

The usual Five keeps a cool distance. The Sexual Five looks for one intense, confiding bond and can be romantic and emotionally expressive with that person.

What stays: the conserving of inner resources. One person gets inside the walls; the walls remain for everyone else. Type Five subtypes.

The usual Six is cautious and doubting. The Sexual Six is counterphobic: it meets fear by going straight at it, and can look bold, provocative and strong. It is often typed as an Eight. CP Enneagram calls it "the most well known of the countertypes."

What stays: fear is still the engine. Force keeps it from being felt as fear. Type Six subtypes.

The usual Seven chases options and pleasure. The Social Seven takes on duty and sacrifice for a group or a cause, and can look idealistic and self-denying.

What stays: the aversion to pain and limits. The appetite is held in check on purpose, and being good to others keeps the Seven's own discomfort at a distance. Type Seven subtypes.

The usual Eight is a lone force pushing back at the world. The Social Eight puts that force behind a group, and can look loyal, protective and warmer than the stereotype.

What stays: control and strength, and the refusal to be made vulnerable. The "I" has become a "we". Type Eight subtypes.

The usual Nine looks easygoing and slow to act. The Social Nine is busy, sociable and hard-working for the group, sometimes to the point of overwork.

What stays: merging. The effort goes into the group's agenda, and the Nine's own priorities go unregistered. Type Nine subtypes. See Enneagram 2 vs 9.

The nine assignments on this page match across the published sources checked for it: CP Enneagram Academy's subtype guide, iEQ9's guide to the 27 subtypes, and Truity's 2022 article on countertypes. Their descriptions differ in emphasis. For the Self-Preservation Two, Truity stresses caution about who they connect with; iEQ9 stresses wanting to be cared for while resisting dependence and long-term commitments; Chestnut and Paes's name, "Privilege," points to drawing care in. iEQ9 also names two countertypes differently (SX5 "Confidant", SX6 "Intimidation").

The larger difference is between lineages. The Enneagram Institute (Riso and Hudson) calls the 27 combinations "instinctual variants," describes the three instincts as a ranked "instinctual stack," and its overview of the system does not use the term countertype.

We know of no empirical study of countertypes; they come from a teaching tradition built on interviews and observation.

• Beatrice Chestnut, The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge (She Writes Press, 2013).
• CP Enneagram Academy (Beatrice Chestnut and Uranio Paes), guide to the 27 subtypes: cpenneagram.com/subtypes.
• iEQ9 (Integrative Enneagram Solutions), "The 27 Enneagram Subtypes Explained": integrative9.com/enneagram/27-subtypes.
• Samantha Mackay, "Understanding Countertypes, The Upside Down Types of the Enneagram," Truity, 2022: truity.com.
• The Enneagram Institute, "How the Enneagram System Works": enneagraminstitute.com.