By Karen House, MS, MT-BC

We’ve all done it, the thing we hate to admit we love- the online personality quiz. What Disney Princess are you? What Hogwarts House would you be sorted into? What food-based superpower should you have?

But what if there was a quiz that actually helped you develop better relationships with your friends, family, coworkers, and even with yourself? Maybe you’ve already heard of it- the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Okay, it’s longer than a Buzzfeed questionnaire and you don’t get a cartoon character to share with Facebook at the end, but the results are pretty incredible.

Recently, the therapists at PBMTI shared their results and came to some interesting realizations. Before I get into juicy details, here’s a basic run-down of the test:

There’s a long version and a short version, and the latter will still give you a surprisingly accurate result. The quiz is made up of statements that you respond with “agree” or “disagree” on a sliding scale. After analyzing your results, you are left with 4 letters made up of the following options:

Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I)

Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)

Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)

Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

Each combination and their strength on a sliding scale shows how an individual makes choices and how they view the world. This includes the positives and negatives, strengths and weaknesses. Apply this information to relationships and you can get insight on why conflicts arise and how to best approach situations with different people.

Here’s a glimpse into our team of music therapists… can you spot a theme?

MBTI

 

After realizing that four out of the nine therapists are ENFP’s, our Managing Partner Bree said, “I interpret [the ENFP’s habit of] always looking for the next thing as you not being fulfilled, and I try constantly to keep everyone happy.” Without the insight into different personalities and how uniquely we see the world, conflict can easily arise. Using the knowledge from the MBTI in the workplace, we can build stronger relationships and a more successful practice by playing to our strengths and that of coworkers as well as communicating effectively.

 

That all being said, I still love the Buzzfeed quizzes… and my Myers-Briggs Disney Princess match is Princess Anna.

Please share your thoughts and your personality type with us! If you haven’t taken the MBTI yet, you can find a short (free!) test at http://www.16personalities.com