“I have a skeptic’s tendency about me with people and organizations. When I found The Narrative Enneagram, it’s one of the few organizations that hasn’t let me down.”

This month, in my role as a Spotlight Committee member on The Narrative Enneagram Board, I had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Holaway, a recent Typing Certification graduate. We talked at length about his experience as a Type 5 and neurodivergent participant, an experience that met the mark for him in many ways.

First on his mind was The Narrative Enneagram’s approach to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), an issue that really matters to him. While the rest of the world was pulling back from its commitment to tackling hard issues around diversity, The Narrative Enneagram “seemed to say there was no apology needed” for their approach and “there was no debate over whether or not it was important.”

Brian later added, “I need people who are going to stand there when the going gets tough and do the right thing, when it’s not easy.” 

As a board member and Certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher, I couldn’t agree more. While always a work in progress, The Narrative Enneagram prioritizes DEIB by integrating it into the newly updated curriculum, scholarships, and affinity groups created to support marginalized groups, and intentional learning for board, faculty, and staff.

Brian began the Foundational Courses two years ago. The program felt right to him from the very beginning. He told me he has always had a “spidey sense” about people (a quality his son attributes to Brian’s autism), and he never had a concern or worry with The Narrative Enneagram. 

“You can tell how an organization operates based on the fruit they are producing and the atmosphere they are cultivating,” Brian observed. He had never experienced anything like it. He loved the diversity of the students and the opportunity to interact with people from different time-zones residing in places all over the world. This kind of experience was something he had always wanted to be a part of.”

As a Type 5, joining the breakout groups was challenging for Brian. However, all but one of the group experiences were great and gave him an opportunity to practice moving towards the things he wanted to move away from. Another Type 5 quality Brian was able to explore was his need for self-sufficiency, his desire to just do things himself. 

The course work helped him to see that there are people who can be trusted, “If I’m sitting in a room with Renee [Rosario], I’m 100% going to trust that she knows more about this than I do.”

Additionally, Brian’s experience during these classes gave him the opportunity to work with his Type 5 habit of worrying about being depleted. He learned that when he felt concerned about how much a certain activity was going to take out of him, he could feel comfortable to say to himself, “you’re going to be fine.”

Brian was diagnosed with autism about six months into his Typing Certification program. He had been wondering about it for many years, and receiving the diagnosis “reframes your whole existence.” He can now look back on moments in his life and understand “that’s why I did that.” Brian told me that having this diagnosis allows him to feel more self-compassion. He said, 

“I wish I’d had this knowledge earlier. In no way have I felt sorry for myself. Now I can grant myself some compassion for that moment when I was really confused. I didn’t know what was going on. The same thing holds true for type.” 

Brian chose to share his diagnosis with others during his coursework, though he advises that disclosure is not a requirement and definitely an individual decision. There was some discussion about neurodivergence during the courses, but it was peripheral. He remembers one of his teachers, Christopher Copeland, explaining that how much neurotype informs Enneagram type is not yet clearly understood. Brian’s thoughts are that “it all matters, but how significant” to the exploration is up to each individual. 

Understanding type and neurodivergence continues to be a work-in-progress for Brian:”My thoughts on how much my type is neurodivergence and vice versa, I don’t know yet because I’ve only actively been thinking about it for two years.”

Brian is only starting to use his Typing Certification, but his experience with neurodivergence helps him to notice when a client might be approaching the conversation in a typing interview differently than someone who is neurotypical. He believes, however, that each of us is unique and that he “hasn’t met a single person who is similar to another.” He knows that the Enneagram does not put us in a box, but rather can provide “guideposts along a trail” when trying to understand ourselves and others.

Are you interested in experiencing a Narrative Enneagram course for yourself?

The Foundational Courses offer the perfect place to start your Enneagram journey. You’ll learn from real representatives of each type and share your own experiences through panels.

If you want to use the Enneagram in your professional work, we offer three professional certifications, including the new Typing Certification that Brian recently completed.

Contributed by: Theresa Branaugh

Theresa Branaugh is a retired high school English teacher, mother of two, and grandmother of four who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. She completed her Teacher Certification with The Narrative Enneagram in January of 2025 and is currently serving on The Narrative Enneagram board. When she is not facilitating various community interest classes and professional development workshops at her community adult school, she can be found exploring all things Enneagram—workshops, panels, books, and podcasts.