Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner
Training & Certification
2026–2027 Program Timeline
at a Glance
Module 1: October 16–18, 2026
Module 2: December 4–6, 2026
Module 3: Learning Labs: January–May 2027
Module 4: May 14–15, 2027
Module 5: In-Person Immersion: September 2027 (3 nights)
Additional mentoring, practicum preparation, and final integration work unfold throughout the year.
Program Arc
- Module 1: Oct 16–18, 2026
- Module 2: Dec 4–6, 2026
- Module 3 (Weekly Learning Labs on alternating Tue AM and Wed PM & Half-Day Training Mar 6): Jan – May 2027
- Module 4: May 14–15, 2027
- Module 5 (In-Person Retreat, 3 nights): Sept 2027 (Specific dates TBA as we are currently exploring retreat center availability)
A Formation Journey
The Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Certification is a professional training for both laypersons seeking contemplative Enneagram formation and professionals who accompany others—spiritual directors, therapists, coaches, clergy, and retreat leaders.
Rooted in the conviction that we cannot give what we have not first received, the program invites participants to deepen their own contemplative engagement with the Enneagram so that what they offer others flows from lived experience rather than technique alone.
Through study, contemplative practice, shared inquiry, and compassionate community, participants explore the Enneagram not simply as a psychological framework but as a path of awakening, integration, and transformation.
A Gentle Invitation to Discern
This program is designed for those who sense a call to accompany others through the contemplative wisdom of the Enneagram.
It may be particularly meaningful for:
- spiritual directors
- therapists and counselors
- clergy and ministry leaders
- coaches and leadership facilitators
- retreat leaders
- experienced Enneagram students seeking a deeper contemplative path
- experienced contemplatives seeking to engage the wisdom of the Enneagram
Many who are drawn to the program are not simply seeking to learn more about the Enneagram.
They come to deepen their own lived encounter with it—trusting that what we offer others must first take root in our own lives.
What Makes This Program Distinctive
The Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Certification is rooted in a vision of the Enneagram not simply as a personality framework, but as a path of awakening and compassionate presence.
Several qualities distinguish this program.
Contemplative Orientation
The Enneagram is approached as a spiritual and contemplative path that invites us beyond personality structures into deeper awareness and wholeness.
Formation Before Technique
Rather than focusing primarily on tools and methods, the program emphasizes personal formation. Participants are invited to embody the work so that what they offer others flows from lived understanding.
Whole-Person Integration
The training explores the Enneagram through the lenses of instinct, emotional awareness, relational presence, and contemplative practice.
Compassionate Accompaniment
Participants learn to accompany others with humility, curiosity, and care rather than diagnosis or labeling.
Community of Practice
The program unfolds within a community of learners who support one another through shared reflection, dialogue, and contemplative practice.
The Shape of the Journey
The program unfolds across the course of a year through five interconnected modules, each building gently upon the previous one and inviting participants into an ever-deepening encounter with the contemplative wisdom of the Enneagram.
Learning includes a blend of:
- contemplative teaching
- experiential exercises
- reflective practice
- group dialogue
- professional application
Participants are encouraged to move through the journey with spaciousness, curiosity, and attentiveness to their own unfolding inner process.
Modules 1–2 form the foundation of the journey and are open to all participants through the Spiritual Explorers Path. Modules 3–5 are reserved exclusively for those continuing on the yearlong CEP Training & Certification journey.
Open to all
Module 1
Foundations of the Contemplative Enneagram
Foundations of the Contemplative Enneagram
Participants explore the Enneagram as a path of awakening and wholeness, grounding the work in contemplative awareness and compassionate self-understanding.
This opening module introduces the contemplative orientation that shapes the entire program, inviting participants to approach the Enneagram not merely as a personality framework, but as a doorway into deeper presence, humility, embodiment, and integration.
Topics Include:
- the nature of contemplation and contemplative practice
- Evolving Enneagram’s contemplative approach to the Enneagram
- compassionate self-observation
- the movement from ego fixation toward inner awakening
- embodiment and three-centered presence
- the relationship between contemplation and transformation
This Friday–Sunday intensive serves as the opening gateway into both the Spiritual Explorers Path and the full CEP Training & Certification journey.
Module 2
Instinctual Bias & Inner Awakening
Instinctual Bias & Inner Awakening
Drawing on Rev. Nhien’s original metaphor of The House of 3 Instinctual Rooms, this module explores the role of instinctual patterns in shaping attention, energy, relationships, and the conditions for the soul’s thriving.
Participants deepen their understanding of how instinctual bias influences both personal experience and relational presence, learning to approach these patterns with curiosity, compassion, and humility.
Topics include:
- instinctual bias and survival strategies
- inner awakening and embodied awareness
- relational presence and energetic patterns
- discernment, balance, and integration
- contemplative approaches to instinctual transformation
This Friday–Sunday intensive completes the Spiritual Explorers Path while also preparing those who feel called to continue more deeply into the CEP certification journey.
CEP Certification Path
Module 3
Holding the Circle: Sacred Accompaniment
Holding the Circle: Sacred Accompaniment
This module invites participants into the contemplative practice of accompanying others with greater presence, humility, discernment, and care.
Through weekly learning labs and experiential practice, participants deepen their capacity to hold sacred space within contemplative Enneagram settings while exploring the relational, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of companioning others.
Participants begin practicing facilitation within supportive learning environments while receiving reflective feedback intended to deepen embodiment, attunement, and compassionate presence.
Topics Include:
- contemplative companioning and sacred listening
- relational presence and emotional attunement
- discernment and non-reactive awareness
- holding space for transformation and vulnerability
- group process and contemplative facilitation
- Enneagram-informed inquiry and reflection
- typing accompaniment and ethical discernment
Learning Labs & Training Rhythm
January–May 2027
Live experiential Learning Labs meet on alternating Tuesdays (10:00–11:30am CT) and Wednesdays (6:00–7:30pm CT), along with one half-day Saturday training.
A detailed Module 3 schedule is included in the downloadable CEP Program Guide.
Module 4
Crafting Your Calling: Designing Your Practicum
Crafting Your Calling: Designing Your Practicum
As participants continue deepening in contemplative formation, this module invites reflection and discernment around vocation, service, and the embodied expression of one’s unique calling.
Participants begin developing their contemplative Enneagram practicum while exploring how this work may naturally unfold within communities, relationships, ministries, healing professions, spiritual direction, coaching, teaching, or other forms of service.
Through guided reflection, experiential dialogue, and private mentoring sessions with Rev. Nhien, participants are supported in clarifying how contemplative presence and the Enneagram may become integrated into their own authentic way of companioning others.
Topics include:
- vocational discernment and authentic calling
- contemplative leadership and embodied service
- integration of personal experience and professional expression
- developing a contemplative Enneagram practicum
- ethical presence and relational responsibility
- deepening trust in one’s own authentic voice and wisdom
Module 5
Coming Full Circle: Integration & Wholeness
Coming Full Circle: Integration & Wholeness
The journey culminates in a shared in-person contemplative immersion devoted to integration, embodiment, relational presence, and sacred community.
Gathering together in retreat space, participants are invited into a slower rhythm of reflection, contemplative practice, experiential dialogue, and communal presence as they integrate the work of the year more deeply into lived experience.
This closing module emphasizes wholeness, discernment, embodied presence, and the ongoing unfolding of contemplative formation beyond certification itself.
Final retreat location details will be announced once discernment and planning are complete.
Program Modules
Module 1
Foundations of the Contemplative Enneagram
Participants explore the Enneagram as a path of awakening and wholeness, grounding the work in contemplative awareness and compassionate self-understanding.
This module introduces the contemplative orientation that shapes the entire program, inviting participants to approach the Enneagram not merely as a personality framework but as a doorway into deeper presence, humility, and integration.
Note: This module is a Friday–Sunday intensive and serves as the opening module for both the Spiritual Explorers Path and the full CEP Training & Certification Path.
Dates/Times: October 16–18, 2026 · 10:00am–6:00pm CT
Self-Study Option:
Module 1—recorded live during last year’s CEP cohort—is also available as a self-paced, stand-alone course for those who prefer a more flexible or introductory experience.
This offering is designed primarily for personal enrichment, contemplative exploration, and introductory engagement with the contemplative Enneagram.
Should you later choose to continue into the live Spiritual Explorers or CEP pathways, your full payment for the self-paced course may be applied toward tuition. Please note, however, that participants pursuing CEP certification are expected to complete all certification-related live participation and formation requirements.
Module 2
Instinctual Bias & Inner Awakening
Drawing on Rev. Nhien’s original metaphor of The House of 3 Instinctual Rooms, this module explores the role of instinctual patterns in shaping attention, energy, and the conditions for the soul’s thriving.
Participants deepen their understanding of how instinctual bias influences both personal experience and relational presence, learning to approach these patterns with curiosity, compassion, and humility.
Note: This module is a Friday – Sunday intensive and may be taken as a stand-alone course.
Dates/Times: Dec 4–6, 2026, 2026 · 10:00am–6:00pm CT
Self-Study Option:
Module 2—recorded live during last year’s CEP cohort—is also available as a self-paced, stand-alone course for those who prefer a more flexible or introductory experience.
This offering is designed primarily for personal enrichment, contemplative exploration, and introductory engagement with the contemplative Enneagram.
Should you later choose to continue into the live Spiritual Explorers or CEP pathways, your full payment for the self-paced course may be applied toward tuition. Please note, however, that participants pursuing CEP certification are expected to complete all certification-related live participation and formation requirements.
Modules 3–5 are reserved for those continuing on the yearlong certification journey.
Module 3
Holding the Circle: Sacred Accompaniment
This module invites participants into the practice of sacred accompaniment within contemplative Enneagram spaces.
Through weekly 90-minute learning labs, participants practice facilitating Enneagram-informed contemplative gatherings using formats such as reflective dialogue and fishbowl facilitation, receiving supportive feedback as they develop the presence required to accompany others.
The module also includes a half-day Typing Accompaniment Training, exploring how to support others in discovering Enneagram type with humility, curiosity, and care.
Module 4
Crafting Your Calling: Designing Your Practicum
During a two-day online training, participants reflect on how the contemplative Enneagram may be integrated into their own context—whether in spiritual direction, coaching, ministry, counseling, teaching, or community leadership.
Participants then design and implement a contemplative Enneagram practicum within their own setting, supported by two private mentoring sessions with Rev. Nhien.
The module concludes with a final reflection paper prior to the retreat.
Module 5
Coming Full Circle: Integration & Wholeness
This in-person three-day contemplative immersion gathers participants for reflection, practice, and integration as the yearlong journey comes to completion.
Together we will explore the Enneagram’s connecting lines, celebrate the path traveled, and co-create sacred space. As appropriate, members of the cohort may be invited to share their unique gifts with the community—deepening our commitment to walking the path of wholeness, oneness, and unity, both in our own lives and in the ways we accompany others.
Certification & Participation
Participants seeking CEP certification are expected to meet live attendance requirements for online sessions and complete any required make-up private training sessions with Rev. Nhien for an additional fee. These requirements help ensure sufficient preparation, formation, and integration as participants move through each stage of the journey.
The Spiritual Explorers Path is designed for contemplative formation and personal transformation and does not carry certification requirements, though live participation is warmly encouraged whenever possible.
Returning participants engaging in the Continuing Formation Path for ongoing deepening and IEA accreditation hours are welcome to participate more flexibly, though live engagement remains deeply encouraged in support of the relational and contemplative nature of the work.
Three Pathways of Participation
Spiritual Explorers Path
Modules 1–2 · Open to All
For contemplative seekers, spiritually curious individuals, and those longing for deeper self-understanding, presence, and transformation through the lens of the Enneagram.
Participants who successfully complete this path may elect to continue into the full CEP Training & Certification Path prior to the beginning of Module 3.
Tuition: $900
CEP Training & Certification Path
Modules 1–5 · A Yearlong Program · Open to All
This path is designed for those called to accompany others with presence, depth, and discernment. Rooted in stillness, inquiry, and lived experience, CEP offers both inner formation and practical skill-building in the contemplative Enneagram.
CEP is not simply a training to learn the Enneagram, but an invitation to embody your authentic being so that your own innate wisdom can flow more fully into your vocation.
Tuition: $3,250
Continuing Formation Path
Modules 1–5 · For Returning EE-Certified Practitioners
This path is intended for returning practitioners who feel called to continue deepening in contemplative formation and integration. Revisiting this work deepens not only one’s own embodiment and presence, but also one’s capacity to companion others with greater wisdom, compassion, and depth over time.
Please contact Rev. Nhien directly for continuing formation tuition details and cohort registration information.
Program Investment
Additional Retreat Costs
CEP tuition does not include travel, accommodations, or food for Module 5’s in-person immersion retreat in September 2027.
Rev. Nhien is currently discerning retreat locations within the continental United States, particularly in North Carolina, California, and Oregon. Based on current estimates, food and lodging costs are expected to range up to approximately $625 per person for single occupancy accommodations, with lower rates available for shared rooms.
Final retreat details and pricing will be shared as soon as possible.
Payment Plans
We understand that participants arrive from many different life situations and helping professions. Flexible payment arrangements may be available.
For additional information, please contact revnhien@evolvingenneagram.com.
Please note that early bird pricing applies only to paid-in-full registrations and does not apply to installment plans.
Early Bird Discount (10% Off)
Available to e-newsletter subscribers only for paid-in-full CEP or Spiritual Explorer registrations.
Early bird pricing ends Friday, July 17, 2026 at midnight CDT.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter to receive your early bird registration code.
Returning Cohort Rate
Previous CEP participants are warmly welcome to return at a significantly reduced audit or deepening rate as part of their continued contemplative formation.
Please contact Rev. Nhien directly for cohort pricing details.
Scholarships & Sponsorships
Limited scholarship and sponsorship support may be available for those experiencing financial hardship. If cost is the primary obstacle to participation, we warmly invite you to reach out.
We also welcome those who feel called to support greater accessibility and the long-term sustainability of these offerings through sponsorship. If this speaks to you, please contact Rev. Nhien directly at revnhien@evolvingenneagram.com.
Facilitator Bio
The Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Training (CEP) is guided by Rev. Nhien Vuong, JD, MDiv.
Rev. Nhien is the founder of Evolving Enneagram and a contemplative teacher, spiritual director, and international speaker. Her work integrates the Enneagram with contemplative practice, guiding individuals and communities into deeper presence, wholeness, and compassionate awareness.
She has been studying the Enneagram since 2002 and teaching it since 2006. She is a Certified Somatic Enneagram™ practitioner and a Certified Awareness to Action Enneagram Professional, and is among fewer than 30 practitioners worldwide accredited by the International Enneagram Association (IEA) with Distinction.
Her teaching invites a lived encounter with the Enneagram as a path of awakening.
Program Investment
Participants may register for Modules 1–2 as stand-alone courses or apply for the full yearlong certification program.
Module 1
Foundations of the Contemplative Enneagram
2026 pricing coming soon
Subscribe to newsletter to be notified when registration opens.
Module 2
Instincts & Inner
Awakening
2026 pricing coming soon
Subscribe to newsletter to be notified when registration opens.
Contemplative Enneagram Practitioner Certification Path
Yearlong program—all 5 modules
2026 pricing coming soon.
For reference only, see below for 2025 tuition:
Benefactor Rate:
$3300
(Pay it forward to support scholarships)
Regular Fee:
$3000
limited no. of partial scholarships will be available
