CNET Ethical Standards & Professional Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A participant asks a CNET teacher to confirm that a mutual acquaintance mentioned in a private conversation 'must be a Type 8.' What is the ethical response?
- Confirm the type if the teacher agrees based on the description
- Decline to type absent third parties and explain why doing so is unethical (Correct answer)
- Suggest the acquaintance attend a workshop for proper typing
- Provide a tentative guess with a disclaimer
Correct answer: Decline to type absent third parties and explain why doing so is unethical
Typing absent third parties violates first-person authority principles and constitutes misuse of the Enneagram.
Question 2: Under the Narrative Enneagram's ethical guidelines, what is the appropriate handling of participant information shared during a panel?
- Panel stories are public and may be shared freely as teaching examples
- Personal disclosures made in panels are confidential and should not be shared outside the learning context (Correct answer)
- Teachers may share anonymized panel stories in published materials without consent
- Participant stories belong to the organization sponsoring the event
Correct answer: Personal disclosures made in panels are confidential and should not be shared outside the learning context
Confidentiality protects participants who disclose personal information during panels and maintains psychological safety in the learning environment.
Question 3: A CNET teacher is asked to teach an Enneagram course that incorporates a specific religious framework the teacher does not endorse. The most ethical approach is to:
- Teach the course and incorporate the religious framework as requested
- Decline the engagement and explain that it falls outside their scope or values alignment (Correct answer)
- Teach only the secular Enneagram content and omit the religious elements without disclosure
- Agree to teach but secretly substitute the religious content with secular alternatives
Correct answer: Decline the engagement and explain that it falls outside their scope or values alignment
Declining engagements that conflict with professional values or competencies is an ethical act of integrity, with honest communication.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of ongoing supervision for Narrative Enneagram teachers?
- To receive approval from senior teachers before each new workshop
- To support reflective practice, catch blind spots, and maintain ethical standards (Correct answer)
- To accumulate continuing education credits required for annual recertification
- To verify that all teaching materials comply with IEA standards
Correct answer: To support reflective practice, catch blind spots, and maintain ethical standards
Supervision supports reflective practice and helps teachers recognize their own type biases and blind spots that could affect teaching quality.
Question 5: Which behavior by a CNET teacher would most clearly violate professional ethical standards?
- Using fictional characters to illustrate Enneagram types
- Charging a fee for a weekend Enneagram retreat
- Claiming that Enneagram typing can predict a person's future behavior with certainty (Correct answer)
- Collaborating with a psychotherapist to design a trauma-informed workshop
Correct answer: Claiming that Enneagram typing can predict a person's future behavior with certainty
Claiming predictive certainty about behavior misrepresents the Enneagram as a deterministic tool and constitutes professional misrepresentation.
Question 6: When a CNET teacher suspects a participant is experiencing a mental health crisis during a workshop, what is the ethical obligation?
- Use Enneagram type knowledge to interpret the crisis and guide the participant through it
- Pause teaching, address the individual's safety needs, and refer to appropriate mental health resources (Correct answer)
- Continue the workshop and speak to the participant only after all other participants have left
- Diagnose the likely Enneagram type under stress and apply type-specific interventions
Correct answer: Pause teaching, address the individual's safety needs, and refer to appropriate mental health resources
Mental health crises require immediate safety-focused response and referral to qualified professionals, not Enneagram interpretation.
Question 7: A CNET teacher publishes a book using detailed case studies from past workshop participants. What ethical requirement must be met?
- Participants' types must be changed to protect their identity
- Written informed consent must be obtained from each participant whose story is used (Correct answer)
- Cases may be published anonymously without consent since workshops are semi-public
- Consent is only needed if participants are identified by their full name
Correct answer: Written informed consent must be obtained from each participant whose story is used
Publishing identifiable case studies requires explicit written informed consent from participants regardless of anonymization efforts.
CNET Ethical Standards & Professional Practice 3
A participant asks a CNET teacher to confirm that a mutual acquaintance mentioned in a private conversation 'must be a Type 8.' What is the ethical response?