Object Relations theory is the major theory in Western psychology that describes the development of a human from birth to adulthood and offers many insights into the formation and operation of personality. By integrating Object Relations theories with the Enneagram system’s map of personality, both views of human personality are expanded and refined. In this presentation, we will explore several threefold Object Relations theories and their exact parallels with the Enneagram’s inner triangle, and we will use these developmental insights to map out the basic psychic structure (core wound, defenses, and relational patterns) of each of the nine types.

Beatrice Chestnut, Ph.D., M.A., M.F.T. has been working with the Enneagram for over fifteen years. She has a Ph.D. in communication and an M.A. in clinical psychology. She has worked as a teacher and a group facilitator and currently has a private psychotherapy practice in San Francisco. She uses her knowledge of the Enneagram with her psychotherapy clients, in the groups and trainings she facilitates, and with teams in business settings. She was certified by Palmer/Daniels in 1997 and completed Ginger Lapid-Bogda’s “Train-the-Trainers” program in 2005.