Siam Enneagram Consulting

with Peter O’Hanrahan, December 25-27, 2026, Bangkok, Thailand

People are wonderful and people are difficult. Fortunately the enneagram helps us understand this paradox. Learning about the nine personality types opens up our capacity to tolerate, appreciate and even love people who are different from us. There's a lot to like about each type; human diversity really is wonderful. On the other hand the people in our lives can seem so difficult, frustrating and stuck in their patterns of personality. And we also can become difficult and stuck in our own patterns!

What makes the difference between wonderful and difficult? The answer, or a big part of the answer, is in the defense systems of the nine types. We need some defenses in this world. At the same time it's the defenses which lock us into our patterns and habits. They separate us from others, they separate us from our true selves, and they separate us from unity or Spirit. To really work with our type structure in mind, heart and body we need to reduce the power of our defenses. The enneagram provides us with a guide to how we can do this.

This part of the enneagram is great psychology. With the defenses we have the language and the awareness that makes deep growth possible. It allows us to connect with our deeper selves and build better relationships. It helps us to see how family members, colleagues, and clients get stuck in spite of their best intentions - and how we can support them.

The defenses are the key to unlocking the type structure!

Join us for these three days and take a big step on your path of personal growth.

In this workshop you will learn the three elements that work together to make a powerful defense system for each of the nine personality types.

1) The idealization of our type takes positive aspects of our personality and turns them into a trap. For example, the peacefulness of the Nines can become a kind of falling asleep and self neglect. The good intentions of the Ones can turn into severe judgment and pressure. The helpfulness of the Twos can keep them from knowing who they are and what they need.

2) The nine patterns of avoidance – different for each type – that push us out of awareness and keep us in reactivity and habit. Threes can’t tolerate any kind of failure. Sevens can’t accept limitations. Eights have to stay strong to avoid their vulnerable feelings.

3) Nine specific defense mechanisms, one of which is the most familiar for our enneagram type. We will explore the image-making of the heart types, the isolation of the Fives, the projection of the Sixes, the rationalization of the Sevens (it’s all OK even when it’s not).

And you will learn how to use the Law of Three which can help us manage the conflict between our desire to grow and our resistance to growth. This law was first described by Gurdjieff who brought the enneagram to public view one hundred years ago. It’s illustrated by the triangle inside the enneagram which represent the three universal forces that are present in any activity. When we are doing our inner work we sincerely want to grow, develop, and heal ourselves, but there are obstacles. We meet up with internal resistance. We may feel it’s too hard, it makes us vulnerable, it’s scary, we want someone else to do it for us. The defenses leap into action in order to protect us. They are a powerful resisting force and they can defeat our best intentions unless we bring them to consciousness and listen to what they are telling us. When we can hold the conversation, and the tension, between our inner “yes and no” a third force emerges. This is the “reconciling” force which leads to integration and movement on our path.

Format

We will have presentations on the defenses of each type followed by interviews and discussion to hear how people experience them personally. We will have breakout groups, inner practices, and breathing exercises. And we will discuss how to work with the defenses using methods based on awareness and kindness. Participants can choose how much they want to share about their type.

Peter O'Hanrahan

Peter has been working with the enneagram since 1978. For over 40 years he used it in his professional practice as a counselor and body therapist. He pioneered new theory and methods for the instinctual subtypes, the defenses, the holistic enneagram and the embodied enneagram and he has taught these approaches in 17 countries. For the past 30 years he has been a trainer for the Narrative Enneagram founded by Helen Palmer and David Daniels MD.

Workshop & Registration Details

• Date & Time: December 25–27, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
• Venue: Jasmine City Hotel (or equivalent)
• Registration Fee: 24,000 THB | Early Bird: 20,000 THB (for payment made by November 30, 2026)
• (Fee includes lunch, coffee breaks/refreshments, and workshop materials)
• Payment / Bank Transfer: Details shown in the image below. Once transferred, please submit your payment slip via Facebook Inbox: Siam Enneagram or LINE: @mbti_eg_zone
• Registration Link: https://bit.ly/Defense_26