Wow Alana, what a great story. Sounds like you had a very good counselor. It is so true that when you learn to speak another personality type’s language, so to speak, you can increase the effectiveness of your communication and better influence them. Of course, you now have to use your powers for good and not evil. 🙂

Wow Alana, what a great story. Sounds like you had a very good counselor. It is so true that when you learn to speak another personality type’s language, so to speak, you can increase the effectiveness of your communication and better influence them. Of course, you now have to use your powers for good and not evil. 🙂

Hi Jason,

The organizations who certify MBTI practitioners make us abide by their ethical guidelines which state that we must provide a feedback session in addition to offering the MBTI itself. So, there may be some places online where you can purchase just the assessment, but I would say they are not abiding by the ethical guidelines. You’ll definitely want to make sure you take the MBTI through a certified practitioner and not a website that claims to sell the MBTI. There are some false versions out there (i.e. via Facebook or something). I am a certified MBTI practitioner so if you are interested in taking the assessment and having a feedback session please feel free to let me know.

Most people say they experience both parts of the personality dimensions. For example, some will say that sometimes they don’t like to talk and sometimes they do. So how can they know if they prefer introversion or extraversion? This is where the feedback session becomes valuable because a practitioner can take their client through a series of questions to help them determine which one they find is their natural preference even though a particular circumstance may influence how they behave sometimes. We all adjust our behavior to navigate events and circumstances, but we all have a natural preference. Similar to using your left hand when you need to but you prefer your right hand, or vice versa.

In regard to your last question, I would have to say it depends. There may be another tool in addition to the MBTI that could help a client or we may decide no assessments would be helpful – but it would be something I would discuss with a client to see what would benefit them the most. Pricing could be part of that conversation.

Thanks for your comment Jason.

Last year, I had a situation where I had experienced almost 3 straight years of conflict with a coworker. I couldn’t understand what was going on and why we never got along. After talking with a counselor who is familiar with personality styles, he showed me the areas that our two personalities may grind each other. I decided to approach the coworker to resolve the conflict. My initial plan was to go in and be apologetic for how I may have shown up in our working relationship. My counselor showed me that being apologetic (and meek) in front of this other personality type may turn them off and make matters worse. SO, I went into the conversation boldly. I directly asked if she had an issue with me… and guess what? It worked! She responded to my strength and described later in the conversation that she is irritated by “weak” people. Had my counselor not known about personality types and how to communicate with each, I may have made things worse in my attempt to resolve the situation. This is one reason I feel it is so important to understand personality styles – both your own AND others.

Great post!