Welcome to INFJ.com!

I recently initiated a monthly call-in meeting called "INFJ Front Porch Chats."  We've covered some interesting topics thus far.  Look for the link in the navigation menu to learn more about them, sign up for them, and to listen to the recordings of the Chats we've had.

You probably want to know who I am, and what qualifies me to author this site.  Hi!  My name's Vicky Jo, and I have preferences for INFJ!  (In unison now -- "Hi, Vicky Jo!")  I'm trained in the Interstrength Method^TM, which includes MBTI® certification as part of its program.  I have experience with all five of the models I will be referencing -- MBTI Dichotomies, Temperament, Interaction Styles, Cognitive Processes, and Beebe Archetypes.  Furthermore, I've read extensively on these topics for several years, not to mention attending meetings, conferences, and workshops (and presenting them!).  So I'm really creating this site for myself as much as anything.  I'll be quoting and citing a variety of sources, so it's not just my voice you'll hear!  (I confess I also sneak a little bit of life coaching in along the way.)

It's worth noting that I don't include much "ISs do this" and "TJs do that" on this site.  This is the wrong site if that's what you're looking for. I feel type is systemic and wholistic, and too much letter talk ends up being restrictive rather than empowering.  That especially goes for that last letter -- J/P -- which has all manner of inaccurate stereotypes associated with it.  

I utilize a slightly different approach to type than most type users.  I don't box people in using four dichotomies the way the MBTI is designed to do.  I'm trying to get people out of boxes they may be in without realizing it! I strive to treat the functions as verbs, and I believe we all have the potential to develop those verbs.  (I dislike restricting anyone's potential!)  At the same time, I believe we're born a certain type, and we flower into that type through the course of our lives and through its many seasons.  (Perhaps this seems like a paradox, but isn't that the nature of being human?)  

Type simply describes what one is naturally good at, so I look to it as a model of development.  The upshot is that you won't find much "alphabet soup" here, and I treat the code as a starting point rather than an end-point.  

What possessed me to tackle this web project?  Okay, twist my arm and I'll tell you.  #1 Because I got tired of people misunderstanding what the INFJ pattern looks like or how it manifests.  #2 It seems that people are hungry to learn more about type, but they don't know how to access or utilize this knowledge on a day-to-day basis.  #3 Because I got tired of type being treated like "trait" theory, and wanted to fight back against broad, sweeping (need I say inappropriate?) generalizations based on limited understandings of type. As you will soon discover, I have some passion around applying type, especially when it comes to exploring my own particular type code, and this website seems like the best outlet for expressing myself.  

You can get started navigating this site by clicking on the dolphin at the right or on the bottom right side of this block.  I just replaced the navigation system, and I'd be grateful to hear of any mistakes I made implementing it.

I add additional data whenever the spirit moves me -- I have little collections, computer documents, varied scraps of paper, and xeroxes piled around that someday may coalesce into a new page, a new paragraph, a new phrase.  There's no grand strategy -- the 100+ pages on this site somehow mushroomed into what you see now.  It's like a blog before they had blogs.  Eventually I'll give it all a facelift.  In the meantime, if you spot a typo or other error, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know so I may correct it (we know how devoted to precision we INFJs are.  Can I hear an "amen!"?).

For those who want to be on the "cutting edge" of Type theory, I recommend my CD introducing the sophisticated eight-level model of psychological types:

Type Insights: The 8-Level
Model of Psychological Types

Speaking of "cutting edge," there was a big announcement in the type world last spring.  CPP announced its release of MBTI®Complete, an online assessment package that allows anyone to take the instrument on their personal computer at their own pace (in their own time) without the aid of a professional facilitator!

If you'd like to experience MBTI®Complete, I invite you to sample this new instrument. It's competitively priced and it's available on my website here: MBTI®Complete

I have a feedback form, if you'd be kind enough to give me some.  And a recommended reading list.  I also put up a blog so you may comment on what you read and we can start piecing together a "quilt" of INFJ interaction.  (It's nearly blank right now, so have at it!  You don't have to become a member in order to comment.  Just click "other" and provide a moniker.)

Please sign my guestbook and share something about INFJ (being one or observing).  There's also a form to provide your email address if you want me to notify you when I add significantly to the site (of course I do not abuse your email address).

If you're interested in having a professional facilitation to discover your best-fit pattern and really own and apply it, visit my website:  Type Insights.com  I offer coaching services, teleclasses, career assessments, and even interactive guided imagery (which is ideal for accessing your own iNtuition).  If you don't know what coaching is, here's a link to a college paper that one of my Catalyst clients wrote to give some sense of the process.

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you get something worthwhile from the time you spend here. Let me know what you think!

-Vicky Jo Psychological Type Coach & Self-Discovery Specialist sometimes known as "The Type Fairy"

P.S. I get lots of encouragement about finishing this site.  Ha!  In the first place, I doubt it will ever be "finished."  In the second place, this is a hobby project and I fund it entirely out of my own pocket, so it ends up on the back burner a lot.  Sorry!  Sign up for my mailing list to be notified of significant updates, or check back from time to time.  If there's a particular conversation you're starving to have, drop me a line and consider co-active coaching with me.  It doesn't hurt -- honest!