Waleed Sami

2/6/15
Personality Paper
Classification of Mental Disorders
Personality Paper
Naturally, working on a personality paper comes with some trepidation. I, like most
people, dont feel comfortable talking about myself. However, with all of the personality tests
given, it becomes easier to speak about. I believe understanding personality is quite important,
especially for a counselor. Know yourself, and you can succeed at anything, so goes the famous
saying. Knowing your strengths and weakness, and what you do well, and what you cant do
well, are incredibly important. If you follow your personalitys internal wisdom, you can look to
create and direct your life around its strengths and avoid your weakness. Or, even better yet,
work on your weakness till they become a shade of what they once were. A counselor should
have a grasp on their personality, so they know how they will react in certain situations, and so
that they know how to deal with different populations.
The MBTI has always been a source of pleasure and annoyance for me. Since I was
young, I have regularly scored as an INFP. INFPs are considered to be empathetic and calm,
quick to nurture and forgive. This often clashed with the hyper-masculinity I needed to portray,
growing up in the environment I grew up in. I owed that to the necessity of having to take a
leadership role in my family. Sports, and the wider culture had that similar impact on me as well.
However, understanding and cultivating personality traits of an INFP on the side, hidden away

from most people proved to cause much dissonance in my formative years. As Ive gotten a little
older, I can now embrace the core charactestics of my personality and use them towards good,
like counseling. INFPs, can be described as Introverting, Intuiting, Feeling, and Perceiving.
Introverting is energized by their internal world, Intuiting means they are focused on visions and
possibilities, Feelings means they make decisions based on personal values, and Perceiving
means they enjoy things when they are open flexible. Furthermore, INFPs are thought to be
sensitive and caring, idealistic and driven. I do believe this does describe me well. Since I was a
teenager, I have cultivated my own world view that fits along well with my ideals and values. I
do sincerely believe there are correct ways to approach situations in life, and those can come
from ethics and morals. However, much of our human suffering comes from the loss of
ignorance of our ethics. In this case, caring and sensitivity are needed, in an often difficult world.
I have worked hard to follow these mantras and I am pleasantly surprised when my MBTI
reflects that. However, I do have a natural rebelliousness, and the MBTI does tell me that INFPs
are of often constrained by boxes and deadlines, an dont work well within structures. This I find
to be true, as most structure kills me, and the need to do things a certain way in order to please
other people never sat well with me. Jobs in where I can use intellect and creativity, I find
pleasure in-so naturally counseling attracts me.
I had never taken the NEO before, so I was quite excited to see my results and gain a new
perspective on my personality. Among the factor scales, I scored slightly above average on
Neuroticism. This didnt come as a surprise to me, as I do have feelings of Neuroticism that have
tended to limit me as a person, especially when I was younger. I grew up in a difficult home, and
had to mature very quickly in order to adjust to my surroundings. This no doubt led to the
development of certain neurotic factors in my life. Ill explore the individual facets of

Neuroticism later. When it comes to Extraversion, I scored less than the average. This is of little
surprise to me, as I have been introverted most of my life. I was interested to see how the facets
of extraversion break down. In a couple of areas within the extraversion facets, I do have high
scores, contrasted with very small scores, compared to the average. My openness to experience
was rated be at the highest it would go, compared to the average. The NEO PI-3, broke down
openness to experience into my facets. I had assumed this factor meant an individual who is
adventurous, but a break down in the facet scales suggest more. Agreeableness was another
factor I assumed was simply, politeness and decency upon interacting with the broader society. It
has a multitude of facets in it, which I am polarized in. Some score very high, others very low,
with very little middle ground. Amongst conscientiousness, I scored higher than average, but the
facet story reveals more complicated details, as there is polarization within the facets. Overall, I
found the NEO-PI-3, a very strong indicator of my personality as it presents on a day to day
basis. It judges how trustworthy/depressed you might be, or how disciplined/excitement seeking.
I believe this gives an individual like me as accurate view of what my priorities are and how they
are influenced day by day. Compared to the MBTI, which in my opinion, judges ones internal
states and intuitions.
When it comes to facets in the Neuroticism scale, I rate the highest when it comes to selfconsciousness, and lowest when it comes to anxiety and vulnerability. I do find this to be quite
accurate. Since I was young, being self-conscious impeded a lot of my confidence, and ruined a
lot of opportunities for me. I had to almost learn how to be confident and project authority, in
order to combat some of my natural self-consciousness. On the other hand, my anxiety and
vulnerability has never been an issue. Ive always been very laid back, and dont like to
overstress and react to every issue in my environment. I take pride in keeping a personal

homeostasis, which helps my anxiety/vulnerability. Moving to extroversion, my highest levels

are assertiveness and activity. This follows directly into what I said earlier, in that Ive had to
combat my self-consciousness with a dosage of assertiveness and re-learn confidence. This,
combined with the fact that Im very busy and enjoy being apart of social institutions,
understandably creates high scores. The lowest would be gregariousness. I like to be calm and
disciplined when I speak, so this makes sense. Openness to experience was high across the
board, with a virtual tie being between fantasy, actions, and ideas. As mentioned, it is a quite
clear that I enjoy intellectual ideas and thoughts and look to use them in a creative fashion.
Moreso, I have an insatiable desire to learn and this no doubt scores me highly. My values score
lower, but still higher than the average. My only insight to this is that as Im still young, my
values are still forming. Agreeableness, is a virtual tie in the highest bracket being tender-minded
and altruistic. Both values are important to me, and have led me towards my chosen career path
at the moment. This is contrasted with trust, which is incredibly low, much lower than the mean.
It seems difficult to manage altruistic tendencies with such a large trust deficit. Finally, when it
comes to consciousnes, achievement striving and deliberation score the highest. I have very high
goals for myself, I am to get a PHD and become a professional fighter in the next 5 years, along
with learning another language. The lowest is order. I believe me being an INFP, can explain that
well. I enjoy flexibility and creativity; I thrive on a bit of chaos. An over-scheduled life would
only make me unhappy.
My Enneagram results were an interesting new perspective on personality, and the
different ways it can manifest. Ive come to see the Enneagram as a metaphor for personality
types and a world view. Im not sure how common this is, but I found myself tied between 4
different numbers for my top personality choice. The first one was number 3, the achiever. The

description give of threes is they are hustlers, and over-achievers. They have a list of things that
are diverse and want to get done. This could not describe me better. Like I mentioned, I want to
attain a PHD and become a professional cage fighters within the next 5 years. Furthermore, I
want to use some time off after my masters to become fluent in Spanish. Im also very involved
in my local community. However, the description indicates I will fall into shame and isolation if I
drive myself too hard. My second was an eight, the challenger. This is another dimension to my
personality. Ive had to take and cultivate this role, because my family has relied upon me since I
was young. This also coincides with my athletic competiveness. Eights enjoy self-starting and
independence, and I can see how this naturally goes with number three. Honor and respect are
very important for me as well. With the responsibility of caring for people who are close to you,
comes with it a unique vulnerability that eights do hold well. My next on the list is the reformer,
number one. Number one implies living up to a high ethical base, and doing what is good and
right in this world, even when it is difficult. I figured this type to be the most ideal of mine, and I
hope I can uphold it. I see how this would be related to the threes, as ones must cultivate a sense
of mission and discipline to root out core issues in the world. The vulnerability of ones is
something I can identify with, as self-criticism must be huge failing in personalities. Finally, my
4th way tie ends up with type two, the helper. The helper is people-oriented, and likes to care for
and help others. Naturally twos, are interested in people, and that is perhaps what led me to
counseling. I can see similarities between ones and twos, as well. People-pleasing tends to be a
downfall of twos, but I believe I counter that with strong assertiveness and independence of
number three.
When reviewing the DSM 5 section on personality disorders, I didnt believe there is one
cluster of symptoms that we would define as a personality disorders that would completely

encompass me. However, there are unique issues we can pull out from each one of the disorders
that Im sure apply to me at one time or another. One of the first traits that pop out to me is the
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The 3rd criteria stands out to me deeply, is
excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and
friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic means, (American Psychiatric Association,
2013). Though not to this extreme, I do fall into the habit of goal attaining and working on my
different projects. Another aspect of this habit is when I train through my injuries, when I know I
need to rest. Ive become better at managing this instinct and resting, but the obsessiveness does
follow me. The 6th criterion also starts out home as well, is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work
with others unless they submit to his or her way of doing things, (American Psychiatric
Association, 2013).
I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to leadership positions. Again, Ive learned
to moderate my impulses and attempted to work on my leadership. A facet of histrionic
personality disorder may also apply to me. The 4th criterion, consistently uses physical
appearance to draw attention to self. Being well groomed and well-dressed is an important part
of my personality, and I do believe it is important to present yourself thusly. However, within the
context of a personality disorder, I would think I would fit the criteria.
Taking a variety of tests on personality has given me an overall picture of what it means
to be me. It is very clear that I am the type of individual who prefers to draw strength from
myself internally, and use it to achieve a variety of goals in my life. These goals are largely
devoted others around me, and then, helping myself. My internal state is sensitive towards
others, and helping them, around the boundaries of morals and values. Similarly, my personality
is beholden to my self-image of a strong and independent person, who wants to achieve and

make the world a better place. Furthermore, there is an aspect of my personality that wishes to
present itself as moral, upright, competent, and ready to lead. However, the personality tests also
consistently show that there is warmth inside that looks to make a positive impact on people.
This warmth could be characterized as emotional intelligence, and an interest in the wellbeing of
people around me and a natural curiosity towards people. It seems at times, my goal is to strike a
balance between an independent and assertative outside, with a warmth and desire to be caring
and supportive on the inside. However, like everyone else, there negative and problematic
aspects that I must temper. Seeing as I am prone to being assertative and goal oriented, I can
come across as critical and perhaps too judgmental on myself or others. Furthermore, I do have
an introverted and a perceptive side to me as well. Sometimes, I am loathe to engage in social
situations where I could be an asset. Im also very averse to last minute deadlines and a highly
regimented way of completing work. Floating and working on many different projects, in a
creative and loose fashion enables me to put out my best work. However, when constrained to
artificial progress marks, others expectations, or working with something I dont agree with, Ill
shut down and rebel against the perceived constraints.
I would consider my personality to be constantly evolving. Only now, in the recent years,
would I say Im beginning to solidify a clear understanding of myself and my values/personality.
A lot of my personality traits were forged within the family crucible since I was young. My
father left the family, placing a lot of responsibility and stress on my moms shoulders and a
special burden on me as well since I was the oldest and a man. So at a young age I had to display
a sense of emotional maturity and some responsibility. This helped solidify my personality of
being a leader and being warm and caring, in order to provide support. However this clashed
immensely with my values and the need to be independent. This has been a constant struggle of

mind since I was young. My personality pulled me both ways; do I give into my sense of
independence and wanderlust, and strike out of my own? Or do I use the warmer part of my
personality, and the one anchored in values and moral uprightness, to do the right thing and care
for my family. There two sides have warred for a long time. Sometimes, resentment of my
situation had its impact on my family. To say I was happy with my arrangements would be
wrong, and coming to terms with it and balancing my two aspects of competing personalities and
values takes time. When it comes to work and play, my personality has its upsides and
downsides. For example, Ive thrived on security jobs because of my assertative and independent
personality. However, it is a common stereotype that to work security and managing the public,
you need to be an assertative authoritarian. This is not true, rather you need warmth and
people/emotional intelligence to manage difficult personalities and tempers, and use creativity in
handling situations. However, owing to the negative part of my personality, I often felt restricted
and saw my motivation disappear once you are give a standardized way of handling all situations
that were given to me, and the flexibility taken away. I also worked once for the courts and did
ankle monitoring and case management. The work atmosphere was toxic, because I was caught
between my coworkers way of doing things, and my bosses. They were often diametrically
opposed, go a lot of extra work landed on me. I naturally rebelled against what I presumed to be
unfair treatment. Perhaps I could have stuck to the order and structure, but the values of the place
I worked in, I couldnt reconcile, so naturally, I didnt fit in, ended up leaving.
Perhaps it is an extension of my vanity, but I would enjoy and work well with someone
with a similar values and personality. Im not sure what the research is behind counselors and
their clients who identify strongly with each others life stories and personalities. Perhaps their
outcomes are higher and their perception of the therapeutic relationship is enhanced due to ther

commonalties. I know personally that Ive found that interacting with individuals in the
counseling relationship who are similar in temperament and experience creates a warm bond. As
a personal habit, I try to find something I can relate too in all of my clients, so we can establish a
bond. However, there some clients who come from natural experiences that we can tell the
chemistry is there. For example, working with young men who dont have father figures in their
life, creates a natural bond. Ive counseled a few individuals like that in my practicum, and we
got along quite well. In terms of opposites personality, Im sure it would be different but not
entirely possible. Our counseling process should equip and train us to meet individuals with
where they are at and create unconditional positive regard.
However, I do tend to get irked by individuals who are not very ambitious or are
incredibly selfish. I would find myself dealing with a great amount of dislike for that person. In
these areas, countertransference might come in and be an issue. Recently, in Practicum, I was
counseling a client who had an issue with her husband. I felt like I understood that personality
type, and found myself making interpretations on his character and foretelling his actions. My
supervisor later pointed that out to me, and was discussed it. I realized it was an issue of countertransference and that Ive had experience with those personality types before. I feel confident
that Ill be able to work well with most personality types, as my counseling education has
prepared and taught me to do. Counseling preparation should teach one to examine their
personality and biases, and to be non-judgmental, and to meet the client where they are at.
I had a good friend describe my personality and read the summary I wrote. They
generally agreed with what I wrote, however they had some insights. They did feel like I was
achievement oriented and drove myself hard, sometimes too hard. My friend would often tell me
that I drove myself too hard and saw that I happened to get burned out from time to time. They

are often advising me to take a step back and relax. They also remarked how I tend to be critical
on myself and others when Im stressed, but have seen my evolution over time, showing more
mercy to others. They now say that mercy needs to come to myself. When it comes to the need to
balance strong leadership and assertiveness with the ability to nurture, they said I pull that off
quite well-and see me growing into that role. They also agreed with my need to work on skills
and discipline as a way to improve myself. When it comes to the introverted part, they know I
dont like to work with large crowds, or with strangers, preferring conversations and low vibes.
Overall, they agreed with summary of my personality. My friend was quite intrigued by the
personality tests that I took, and even took some of them!
Overall, writing this paper was a great experience for me. As a counselor, the need to be
self-aware in every situation is critical. Writing this paper gave me a real, deep introspective take
on my personality. Understanding the dynamics of your personality, will place you in a greater
position of understanding your clients personality. The incredible nuance, depth, and dynamism
that make up you, make up everyone else. Creating an inherent respect for the idea of
personality, and how it impacts us all will equip us to become more humble and better
counselors, overall.

References
1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.