Therapeutic Recommendations

The transformation path of the Self-Preservation 5 requires a therapeutic environment that is connoted as a space of respect and acceptance, with the absence of judgment, in a dimension of trust.

Their hypersensitive emotional structure requires a safe environment: the safety of an embrace, a look, a silence, a voice that is neither invasive nor aggressive, nor deceptive nor overwhelming, and clean in the sense of being sincere, honest, and free of fears and shadows.

Creating an internal space of trust requires time, patience, stability, and consistency in therapeutic actions.

"When the therapist pressures me for no apparent reason, I shut down and refuse to cooperate. Like in authoritarianism: I rebel in silence and refuse to listen." - Manuela R.

Accessing the body dimension requires touch, sensitivity, and precise timing.

"He hugged me like an adult picking up a child. He held me for a long time, and that was something that comforted me. There were no words, he was by my side, hugging me and

asking for nothing in return, and there was nothing else. Just the hug and the time he wanted." - Manuela R.

The work of validating the emotional world is based on a solid therapeutic alliance and requires a loving, reeducative type of support. "It is in this therapy that I begin to give 'value' to my emotions, to recognize that they exist, that they are expressed in the body, that they are a language different from the rational one, and therefore cannot be 'understood.' I am realizing that I have difficulties managing my emotions, that sometimes they overflow and encompass everything. This learning about emotions was what allowed me to progress. I was noticing my actions and inactions, my demands, my internal struggle between getting closer and distancing myself; I could see the relentless judge within me." - Manuela R.

It is important, at this stage, not to be complicit in the intellectual skirmishes that the Self-Preservation 5 places into play to distance themselves and the relationship.

"My therapist brought to the 'table' issues I was hiding and hiding from myself. And this gave me the option to say: 'I don’t want to talk about this.' I hid them to learn. My parents didn’t openly talk about problems; problems were hidden, and by hiding them, it seemed like they didn’t exist. They didn’t exist. And she made them explicit." - Manuela R.

It is essential to maintain the person's attitude of autonomy and supervise the individuation process. The Self-Preservation 5's goal is to surrender to the world, not to find in the fields of therapy and personal growth an "expanded hole" to retreat into.

Moving towards virtue

The virtue of detachment typical of this Enneatype is expressed in E5 as the Self-Preservation of detachment from the attachment to their survival strategy. It is important for you to recognize and abandon your attachment to the idea that the only alternative for survival is to remain locked in your "air," with the little but safe thing it offers, giving up on real life.

The virtue of detachment should also be practiced in the tendency to isolate oneself. Opening up to life means crossing the fear that blocks it and trusting life — beyond the places and situations in which you feel protected, to discover yourself in the encounter with the other.

By shifting the focus from oneself to others, the Self-Preservation 5 can find the meaning of their existence. Actively taking an interest in others, caring for others, being of service, neutralizes the tendency to focus too much on oneself.

As Claudio Naranjo described:

"I need to leave my isolation and take an interest in others [...] The greatest hope is not in receiving love (especially because you cannot trust others' feelings), but in your own ability to love when relating to others."