How one book opens doors to deeper insight, client growth, and expanded offerings.
When The Enneagram World of the Child: Nurturing Resilience and Self-Compassion in Early Life was first conceived, it was going to be a simple workbook for parents—practical, hands-on, and focused on supporting resilience in early development.
But as the writing unfolded, something deeper emerged.
What began as a workbook evolved into a hybrid: part contemplative workbook, part experiential guide. The result is a resource that not only supports parents but offers Enneagram coaches and teachers a unique, multi-purpose tool—one that bridges personal growth, developmental psychology, and systemic awareness.
For coaches, it’s a godsend.
Four Transformative Avenues of Use for Coaches
- Coaching Parents – This book equips coaches to support parents in understanding how personality begins to form—not by typing their child, but by learning to see their child’s emotional world with greater awareness. It also helps parents examine how their Enneagram type influences their relationships with, reactions to, and guidance of others. For coaches, this becomes a robust new offering: helping parents raise resilient children while becoming more conscious of their inner landscape.
- Working with Adults – Every fixation has a beginning. This book offers a mirror for adult clients to reflect on the subtle and often invisible ways their type developed in response to early life experiences. It invites a kind of inner re-parenting that’s grounded in compassion, not analysis. For coaches, it opens the door to deeper client insight and healing, especially for those who are ready to explore beyond behavior and into its root causes.
- Exploring Family System Dynamics – The book doesn’t stop with the individual. It opens a portal into family system dynamics through the lens of the Enneagram. Coaches can help clients understand how different types of individuals interact, conflict, or collude within a family unit—and how those dynamics influence emotional strategies and roles. This makes it an invaluable tool for couples coaching, family constellation work, and inner child exploration rooted in family patterns.
- Expanding Your Offerings and Business – Because the book crosses boundaries—parenting, self-inquiry, early childhood, and systems thinking—it naturally lends itself to multiple offerings:
- Parent-focused coaching programs
- Workshops on childhood development and the Enneagram
- Support groups for inner child and origin work
- Collaborations with therapists, teachers, or schools
- Experiential retreats or webinars on family dynamics
In short, it’s not just a resource. It’s a curriculum waiting to be used.
A Missing Link in the Enneagram World – Most Enneagram teachings focus on the current type structures. This book focuses on how they formed. It takes us back to the beginning—to the early strategies a child adopts in the face of emotional overwhelm, longing, or disconnection. And it does so with depth, clarity, and care.
Why It’s a Godsend – If you’re an Enneagram coach who wants to:
- Deepen your client work by exploring the origins of type
- Offer new services around parenting and family systems
- Support parents without simplifying or stereotyping children
- Reconnect with the developmental roots of the Enneagram
- Build new programs, courses, or retreats based on experiential inquiry
Then this book belongs in your toolbox.
Join the Conversation: Author John Harper will offer online book discussion groups, as well as more in-depth, experiential explorations of the key themes in The Enneagram World of the Child. These sessions are ideal for coaches, parents, and individuals seeking to explore the profound roots of the Enneagram in early life.
To learn more or express interest, contact John at enneachild@gmail.com