What advice would you give Claudia and Ricardo about their relationship that could help them to stabilize their interactions and create greater peace?
Read the following description carefully and consider all of your knowledge about the Enneagram and core energetics as you assess the description. Don’t settle for surface typings but rather look beneath superficial descriptors to go to potential motivation. Answer the questions following the description in an essay format that illustrates your knowledge of the personality typing systems we’ve covered thus far.
Claudia is a beautiful, blonde and blue-eyed woman in her mid 40s. She is of medium height with broad, muscular and defined shoulders a narrow waist and a toned physique. People often talk about the intensity in her eyes and her captivating and commanding energy. Claudia is a successful and well-known performing and is multi-talented being well versed I singing dancing and acting (also known as a “triple threat”). She’s incredibly charming, but also an extremely hard worker who knows how to get things done in the world, particularly in the entertainment industry. She’s overall very positive but she’s also direct and no-nonsense when it comes to executing her artistic vision, and is a shrewd, almost “shark like” businesswoman. She loves to shock people with her performances so she will often do something outrageous just to elicit a reaction from other people, as she thrives off of the attention and adoration. People who know Claudia well say she can be quite loving, nurturing and protective of those in her inner circle, but it can take a long time to “get in” because she’s difficult to trust new people (partially because of her fame, and the tendency to be sought out by people desiring money or fame by association.
Claudia loves to take people under her wing and nurture them through a mixture of exposing them to different and exciting cultures, art forms, cities and food they may have not been exposed to, and also by nurturing their intellectual and psychological development. This is all because she wants those in her inner circle to be “well rounded” and independent thinkers like her. She’s been all over the world and had a variety of experiences and as such is always craving more, she considers herself like a mother to those in her sphere of influence and can at times even neglect her actual children because she’s busy guiding so many others.
Despite Claudia’s fame and notoriety she’s always been afraid of dying because she lost her mother at a young age, and doesn’t want to feel like she missed out on anything, but also fears missing out on seeing her children grow up and giving them the experience of sadness she felt at not having a strong mother figure in her life. Because of her death fear she’s also very focused on staying young and beautiful and even at 55 she is powerful and fiercely athletic, often wanting to execute difficult dance moves and pushing herself at the gym to achieve the powerful and sexy look she’s worked hard to develop, which has also become her trademark image.
Claudia’s romantic relationships have always been complicated. She was married briefly in her 20s but for the most part has always steered clear of being “tied down” too much. She likes her freedom and wants variety and excitement but she also demands loyalty and respect from her partners. Her partners have often told the press that she can secretly be quite needy and demanding and craves more attention than any one person can give her. Claudia admits she can have tendency to be a having high standards for her partners but she considers her affection and attention a gift that her partners should earn. Secretly she can become quite needy and her hardness shifts to a longing for affection and almost childlike grabbing like quality that is in stark contrast to her typically strong exterior. She has told friends that all she really craves in life is to be loved the way she loves others, and that everything else is inconsequential.
Her latest boyfriend Ricardo is young and handsome and has no problem letting Claudia shine in the spotlight (she’s always complained her previous boyfriends were threatened by her fame and drive). He is soft-spoken, kindhearted and intellectually curious. Ricardo likes to talk deeply about subjects, which Claudia loves as long as it doesn’t get too “sappy” or “depressing” she prefers to stay positive whenever possible (even though at times she can be attracted to things that are dark or provocative). Claudia loves debating metaphysical or intellectual concepts with Ricardo and is fascinated by the depth of his knowledge and his quick and agile mind. Claudia’s friends like Ricardo very much and would like to see her give him a shot as they’ve seen her pattern of growing bored and despondent when she feels like it’s time to “move on” or when she feels like the person is no longer showering her with the admiration and attention she feels like she’s giving them (even if she’s already withdrawn and distant in the relationship).
Lately Claudia has been resentful of Ricardo because she thinks he’s too “passive” and “wishy washy”. Ricardo however has been quite anxious because he just wants to “do the right thing” and he often goes over in his mind all of the ways in which he’s “messing it up” so then he tries even harder to be loyal and acquiesce to her often demanding nature. Ricardo also finds himself complaining about her to his friends because he feels more like her “boy toy” rather than her boyfriend. But after a good complaining session he often feels guilty later when he sees her and she’s passionate and vivacious, reminding him of why he fell for her in the first place.
When Claudia gets stressed out she tends to nitpick and become hard to please, critical and almost obsessive compulsive about minor details in her environment. She also can become quite melodramatic and can throw the occasional temper tantrum if she feels like someone isn’t responding to her in the way she’d like or if she isn’t getting her way. Lately Claudia has felt like she doesn’t know what it is but something is missing in her life, so she’s become more provocative in her art and is being accused of just “wanting attention” which bothers her because she wants to be seen as a legitimate artist. Her behaviors are threatening both her relationships with those in her inner circle, her career and her relationship with Ricardo.
QUESTIONS:
1.) What is Claudia’s core type with wing, and Tritype? Point to specific examples in the description that lead you to your typing and explain what you can both confer and infer based on what’s written about her core motivation and Tritype. Explain what sticks out to you as her core fear and triggers based on the information above.
2.) What is her likely instinctual subtype? Explain your assessment.
3.) What is her likely core energetic structure(s) (you can name your top 2 choices)
4.) What is Ricardo’s likely core type (you can try for Tritype if you want)
5.) What insight or advice would you give Claudia knowing what you know about the Enneagram about why she could be feeling incomplete or dissatisfied with her life? What, based on Enneagram theory, would happen to Claudia’s psychological state if she continues to
6.) What advice would you give Claudia and Ricardo about their relationship that could help them to stabilize their interactions and create greater peace?