The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator© (MBTI) is a personality type indicator based on Carl Gustav Jung's Psychological Types theory and put into a practical method by an American mother and daughter team, Katherine Briggs and Isabel Myers.
The Indicator looks at preferred ways of doing things and comprises four separate dimensions:
1. Into which world does my energy flow?
| Extraverted | Introverted |
| The outer environment of people, things, variety, activity | The inner world of concepts and ideas |
2. How do I perceive reality (gather information/data)?
These are called the Perceiving Functions.
| Sensing | iNtuition |
| through the senses: gathering facts, trusting details, prefers present reality | intuitively: finding patterns, possibilities, more future-orientated |
3. How do I arrive at decisions?
These are called the Judging Functions.
| Thinking | Feeling-valuing |
| Objective in approach, looks at pros and cons, considers the logical outcome | Subjective in approach, considers from 'inside' the situation, applies own personal values, seeks harmonious outcome |
4. Two ways of living this in the outer world (cf Functions)
| Judging | Perceiving |
| Prefers to run outer world, have structure, decisions made | Prefers remaining open to situations as they arise, adaptable, open-ended |
A basic MBTI workshop entails completing a questionnaire and, whilst not a retreat in the strict sense of the word, many people find it very helpful in their spiritual/human development. It is dynamic and gives us a constructive way of relating to self, others and God. It heightens awareness, appreciates differences and gives a meaning to complementarity. It builds on our strength and is therefore freeing, at the same time, giving practical ways forward.
Workshops include input, group and individual work plus the opportunity for individual feedback.
The MBTI can be used in many areas: in Church community, organisations, caring professions, education, etc. offering help at both the individual and group level. Workshops can be developed to look at type and leadership, teaching/learning styles and the spiritual life, and as a springboard into the 'shadow' or unconscious side of the person - the side of ourselves that we so often experience as dark, but where we discover great potential and often God at work.
Given that the MBTI is a psychometric instrument, those who administer or run the workshops are generally Registered Practitioners. A membership body (BAPT: British Region - Association for Psychological type) together with the British distributor (OPP: Oxford Psychologists Press) do everything possible to ensure that ethical values are upheld, and on-going research continually keeps us informed.
Qualifying workshops are also available in the UK as is the Expanded Analysis Report (EAR) which, by moving into trait theory, looks at five sub-scales for each dimension.
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