Man looking at various images of himself

Temperament Is Inborn | Personality Is Learned

FIRST IN A SERIES OF SIX BLOG POSTINGS

God’s word in the Psalms speaks to how He fearfully and wonderfully knit together in our mother’s womb each one of us was.  We have no difficulty grasping the idea that every person has a unique fingerprint.  Or how we have a one-of-a-kind appearance.  No two of us are identical – even identical twins.But when it comes to how each of us is designed on the inside – our soul – it’s much more problematic to describe, let alone comprehend, the unique, inborn nature within each of us.  

Temperament Is Vastly Different Than Personality

In today’s landscape of science, philosophy, and spirituality, there are myriad instruments developed for the express purpose of helping an individual learn more about themselves:  DISC, Myers-Briggs, MMPI, Strength Finders, just to name a few – and the current favorite, the Enneagram.  Each of these is very effective in capturing the traits of an individual’s personality, with thousands ascribing to each.  In selecting a team, or hiring a staff member, or placing individuals into their most productive roles, every one of these personality profiles is able to provide clear and accurate guidance.

In the early 1980’s, Drs. Richard and Phyllis Arno, while doing doctoral seminary studies to become Christian Counselors, discovered that the counseling world was void of a profiling instrument that provided results that were not merely personality indicators, but rather markers of the individual’s unique, inborn temperament.  And further, Drs. Arno’s extensive search for a testing method that was capable of capturing how a person’s identity is formulated relative to the principles and virtues revealed in the Bible came up empty as well.  Their motivation was to possess a tool capable of gathering data to help each individual client uniquely discover greater personal wholeness in their life (soul), as opposed to finding direction in what functions that individual might most effectively fill within a system (e.g. family, team, workplace).

So, as a result of years of research, thousands of clinical trials in actual counseling sessions, and extensive data collection, the Arno Profile System (APS) was created.  

Three key characteristics set the APS apart from all other known profiling instruments:  1) Capable of identifying the needs, strengths, and weaknesses of an individual’s inborn temperament, as opposed to their personality traits demonstrated in relationships with others, 2) Analyzes human characteristics through the character of Jesus Christ and the core human values found in scripture, and 3) Reveals the long-elusive fifth temperament, the Supine – an individual who perceives themselves as less valuable, cares more for the needs of others than their own, and has a naturally gentle spirit.

Our Team Can Help You Better Understand Yourself

Through extensive education, training, and experience, each of our NCCA Licensed Christian Counselors is to help an individual understand their God-given, inborn temperament, and how it can be used to either glorify God and benefit their relationships, or to lead to the individual battling the imperfections of their inborn temperament, creating stress and conflict both within themselves as well as in their human relationships. 

Our counselors guide each client in discovering the unmet needs within their unique temperament, accurately identifying the origins of these stressors, and integrating how those have led them to the issues they are presently experiencing – issues such as lack of intimacy from having been abandoned, toxic shame from having been molested, living in the rejection of having been cheated on, daily self-condemnation from having fallen short, or struggling with anxiety and depression during a world-wide COVID-19 pandemic.

Then most importantly, I provide individualized methods, Christ-centered teachings, and healing experiences to aid the client in discovering their inborn temperament strengths, accepting their unique identity in Christ, and finding lasting freedom from the fear, pain, and shame in their life.

Let Us Help You Find Peace Amidst An Epidemic Of Anxiety

This is the first in a series of blog postings I’ll be writing to help you uniquely move beyond the stress you’re currently experiencing.  Each posting will focus on the traits specific to each temperament type that illustrate how that person might respond to stressors in their life, both past and present.  And I’ll also provide meaningful, faith-based strategies as to how a person with that unique temperament can move beyond their fears and discover the peace and joy they’re searching for.

———-

Soul health and spiritual maturity cannot be separated.  Our counselors are ordained Christian ministers as well as certified and licensed Christian counselors.  We are able to help you experience freedom from shameanxietydepression, or marriage / relationship conflict with methods that are purely Christ-centered.  Please click on this link to learn much more about how our Christian ANXIETY COUNSELING in Louisville, Kentucky can help you become a more authentic follower of Christ, and help you find freedom from identity dependence.https://lifetrainingcounseling.org/

Life Training offers convenient sessions at https://lifetrainingcounseling.org/depression-counseling/our office in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as online counseling via Zoom or FaceTime.  Our non-profit counseling practice has had an outstanding track record from over a decade helping men and women, individuals and couples who are ready to move beyond anxietydepression, and conflicts in marriage or other relationships find hope and healing in their lives.  Contact us today at 502-717-5433, or by email at drdave@lifetrainingcounseling.org

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *