Michael Shahan - LMFT

10/20/2025

10/16/2025

Holiday prep sessions are back! If you are feeling overwhelmed about interactions with family this holiday season, let's talk.

There is no cookie-cutter process for handling the holiday season. It's going to be different for everyone based on their personality, their family situation, and so much more.

I've designed these sessions to be ultra-personalized and practical so that you can feel equipped to take on the holiday season with as little as one session.

Here's how it works: fill out a short form letting me know your Enneagram number and your biggest fears, worries, or hesitations about the upcoming holiday season. I'll read over your notes and assess your situation through an Enneagram and family systems lens. Then, we'll meet for a 60-minute session to discuss your situation more in-depth and come up with a plan that feels doable for you!

If you want to schedule follow-up sessions, you always can!

I have absolutely loved these holiday prep sessions the last two years and have found it to be a great tool for people who just need a little support headed into this often stressful time.

If you don't know your Enneagram number, that's okay! Take the free test at Truity (link in bio) and we'll go from there!

Interested? Fill out the interest form in my bio and my assistant will reach out to schedule your session.

09/12/2025

I love the Enneagram. I use it in my therapy practice. I’ve seen it transform people’s self-awareness, relationships, and growth.
But sometimes… I also hate it.

The Enneagram can be incredibly powerful, but only when we treat it as a tool for reflection and growth, not as a set of stereotypes to fit into or excuses to hide behind.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by how the Enneagram is talked about online, you’re not alone. The work is deeper than memes, quizzes, and catchphrases (even though those have their place and can be fun.) It’s really about discovering yourself, beyond the surface.

09/10/2025

Friendly reminder: you are not your Enneagram number.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking your type defines who you are or even who you should be. Maybe you’ve heard that Type 1s are perfectionists, Type 2s are selfless, or Type 7s are always chasing fun.

And yes, those traits can show up, but they are just tendencies, not the full picture of you.

Your Enneagram type is a tool for self-awareness. It helps you notice patterns, motivations, and fears, but it doesn’t capture the depth, complexity, and unique combination of experiences that make up your life.

When we mistake our number for our identity, we risk limiting ourselves, believing we must always behave a certain way or fit a certain mold.

This is your reminder: the traits commonly associated with each type are just tendencies, not prescriptions. Real growth comes when we notice these patterns, reflect on why we do what we do, and make conscious choices about how we want to show up in the world. You get to define yourself, a number doesn’t have that power over you.

What things have you seen online about your Enneagram number that make you think, “THAT’S NOT ME!” Share your thoughts in the caption!

09/08/2025

We all have those moments where it’s time to disappear 🪄

09/05/2025

Society loves to celebrate certain traits. For each Enneagram number, there’s a particular way we’re praised, rewarded, and encouraged to “show up.”

But here’s the thing: just because the world values these patterns doesn’t mean they’re the full picture of who we are or what’s healthiest for us. In fact, leaning too heavily into them can keep us stuck, disconnected, or exhausted.

For example, being disciplined and responsible as a an Enneagram 1 gets you recognition, but it can also make it hard to let yourself relax or embrace imperfection. Being generous and selfless as an Enneagram 2 earns love and admiration, but can make it easy to neglect your own needs. And being fun and optimistic as an Enneagram 7 makes you a joy to be around, but might stop you from sitting with discomfort and growing in presence.

This post breaks down what society tends to praise in each type, and what opportunities we might miss when we over-focus on those traits.

Growth doesn’t mean rejecting the qualities that make you, you. It means noticing when they’re being performed out of expectation rather than choice, and making space for what actually nourishes your mind, body, and heart.

Which one feels most familiar to you right now? Where do you notice yourself performing a trait because it’s expected, rather than because it’s what you truly need?

09/04/2025

Okay, it may be a little late for this meme, but I felt inspired this morning.

P.S. I was at the football game that Taylor Swift was at last Thursday, so we’re basically best friends.

09/03/2025

One of the most powerful parts of working with the Enneagram is realizing that the patterns we’ve relied on for so long aren’t the only way to move through life. Each type has its own default way of thinking, feeling, and reacting, and while those patterns once kept us safe, they can also keep us stuck.

That’s why slowing down to reflect is so important. Sometimes all it takes is the right question to crack something open inside of us and to help us see ourselves with more honesty, compassion, and choice. It’s a necessary part of creating more self-awareness.

I put together one reflection prompt for each Enneagram number. They’re not questions to rush through or “get right.” They’re invitations. Something to sit with, journal on, or carry into your day.

Which one speaks to you the most right now?
Tag a friend who might need their type’s reminder today, or save this post to come back to when you need a reset.

09/03/2025

The Enneagram doesn’t determine who we are, it points to how our experiences shaped us into certain beliefs about ourselves and coping mechanisms for dealing with those beliefs.

Each number carries a childhood wound, often born out of the small (or big) moments where we felt unsafe, unseen, or unloved. Those early experiences shaped the way we learned to protect ourselves, but they don’t tell the whole story of who we are.

Soul Child Theory reminds us that within each of us is a younger, freer part of ourselves: the “soul child.” This part remembers what it felt like to live without the armor, without the striving, without the constant guarding. It remembers joy, curiosity, innocence, and wholeness.

The work of adulthood isn’t about shaming our wounds or trying to erase them. It’s about learning to notice when we’re living from that place of protection and gently turning back toward the child inside us who already knows how to live with openness and freedom.

When we honor both the wound that shaped us and the soul child within us, we begin to grow into the most authentic version of ourselves.

Does the childhood wound and adult work associated with your number resonate with you?

08/30/2025

Sometimes it’s just better if we stop those sentences in their tracks. Which one resonated with you?

08/28/2025

One of the reasons the Enneagram is so powerful is that it reveals not only our strengths and struggles, but the contradictions we live inside every day. Each number has a paradox: a place where we both long for and resist the very thing we need most.

These paradoxes aren’t mistakes, they’re invitations. When we can hold the tension between what we want and what we resist, we begin to grow.

The examples in this post are just one of many paradoxes that live inside each one of us. Which paradox do you resonate with most right now? What other paradox do you notice showing up in your life?

Drop your Enneagram number and thoughts in the comments!

07/21/2025

Are you a therapist, coach, social worker, or another mental health professional who works one-on-one with clients? For the first time, I’m hosting a mini-version of my Enneagram in Practice Course this November.

Historically, this course has been twice as long and twice as expensive. But, this November, I’m trying something new!

If you’re a professional who has a basic understanding of the Enneagram and wants to jump right to the chase of how to integrate more advanced Enneagram topics in your day-to-day practice, this is your shot.

This group will meet for three consecutive Tuesdays over Zoom. Each session will be an hour of teaching, and an hour of personalized coaching in which we break down real life examples and scenarios from your own practice.

Early bird pricing is available for a limited time! DM me with any questions you have.