Enneagram personality types and their predictive role in barriers to seeking mental health counseling

Abstract

Mental health is an increasingly concerning issue worldwide. The fast pace of life, ignorance towards mental health, myths, and various barriers towards mental health are prohibiting people from seeking help. Many detrimental factors act as a barrier for people to seek mental health help. To address this issue, the present study is conducted to determine how enneagram personality traits (Reformer, Helper, Achiever, Individualist, Investigator, Loyalist, Enthusiast, Challenger, and Peacemaker) can predict six barriers that prevent people from seeking mental health counseling: negative perceived value, discomfort with emotions, ingroup stigma, lack of knowledge, lack of access, and cultural barriers. The data was collected from 204 Istanbul residents using the Enneagram Personality Scale and Barriers to Seeking Mental Health Counseling scale. The data was analyzed by conducting regression analysis in SPSS, and the results revealed a statistically meaningful relation between variables. It is found that the investigator and enthusiast types positively predict the “negative perceived value” barrier, while the individualist type negatively predicts it. Additionally, the individualist type positively predicts the “ingroup stigma” barrier, while the loyalty type negatively predicts it. The investigator type positively predicts the “discomfort with emotions” barrier, while the reformer and helper personality types negatively predict it. The helper type positively predicts the “lack of knowledge” barrier, while the challenger type negatively predicts it. Finally, the “cultural barrier” was highly predicted by the challenger type, while no personality type was found to indicate the “lack of access” barrier. Based on the findings of the present study, it can be inferred that Enneagram personality traits can be a useful tool to anticipate various obstacles that hinder Istanbul residents from seeking professional mental health counseling.