Type C Personality, Trauma, and People-Pleasing Myths

We’re delighted to share this insightful interview with the team behind *The Type C Personality* podcast—Dr. Kore Nissenson Glied and Anna White.

We are also delighted that they will be presenting at our upcoming virtual event, The Philosophy of Love and Relationships, on Saturday, October 25 at 1 PM EDT. This session bridges ancient wisdom and modern psychology, offering practical strategies to build healthier relationships with others—and with ourselves—while staying true to our core values.

This event is free and open to everyone. If you find value in our work, donations are gratefully accepted and help us continue to offer free programming. We invite you to contribute what you feel the experience is worth.

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Dr. Kore Nissenson Glied is a clinical psychologist. She worked in NYC hospitals for 15 years. She has maintained a private practice in Manhattan since 2010, where she provides evidence-based treatment including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for adults with anxiety, depression, and insomnia due to a wide range of conditions including past history of trauma, pregnancy, and relationship issues. She has presented and published in peer-reviewed journals on the subjects of OCD, HIV and complex PTSD.

Anna White is a former investment executive who spent 20 years working for a range of Wall Street firms in capital markets, private equity, equity research, and asset management. She experienced severe burnout at one point in her career which led to a chronic illness that was difficult to diagnose, treat, and recover from. Type C traits were a significant contributor to her declining health. She feels strongly about raising awareness of Type C so that people develop their full potential. She holds a B.S. and M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What is a Type C Personality?

Most of us know of Type A and Type B personality types; they are well established in our culture. Type A is known as high-achieving, perfectionistic, aggressive, perhaps rigid, while Type B is the opposite—relaxed, flexible, passive, sometimes unmotivated. Type C is a different flavor altogether. People in this category feel fearful of upsetting or disappointing others, guilty when they have to say no, compelled to maintain a constant pleasant façade, out of touch with their anger and resentment, unable to admit their own needs and hesitant to express them, and unworthy or less deserving than others.patterns helped them cope in earlier environments.

Dr. Glied, from a clinical perspective, what is the most common misconception about “people-pleasing” (or the Type C personality) that you have to unravel with your clients before real progress can begin?

Let’s start with some thoughts about the term “people pleaser” and how it relates to the Type C personality. Yes, Type C people aim to please and can take it to the extreme. There’s plenty of overlap. But we are not fans of the label “people pleaser”! It’s negative, shallow, and doesn’t appreciate the complexity of the Type C personality. When someone is labeled a people pleaser, we don’t know WHY they behave the way they do. We don’t understand the history that underlies their interactions with other people. Being criticized as a people pleaser only brings someone more self-blame and shame. Type C has many more layers to understand.

With my patients, we first have to work on the belief that being Type C is all their fault. People are very self-critical, blaming themselves for the mistakes and problems they’ve had. While it’s important that patients take responsibility for their actions – for self efficacy – it’s also important to understand the origins of their Type C-ness. Early on people with Type C personality learn that thinking more about the needs of others than their own helps manage their emotions and creates a safer and more certain environment. Type C traits were helpful for survival growing up, but they may no longer be helpful in the present.

Your research includes trauma and OCD. When it comes to the development of the Type C personality, is it more nature or nurture? What can be changed versus what might be less likely to change?

Dr. Glied: Genetics definitely play a role in the development of Type C personality but this is harder to assess. We do know that people with Type C personality grew up with a caregiver who experienced or displayed one or more of the following: mental illness, substance use issues, criticism or perfectionism. For a person with Type C personality, we want to bring awareness to the thoughts and feelings that come about in certain situations and the urges and actions that arise. We focus on looking at these responses to ourselves such as self blame or criticism, and how we react to others. Are we currently taking care of ourselves in interpersonal interactions in the kindness way we can?

As for the second question, someone can seek treatment at any time. Usually it’s when you feel stuck in some way or other. Sometimes it’s most effective to seek treatment at your worst because this is when you are most willing to make changes. Change is extremely hard and if things aren’t that bad, it can be hard to do the work to change. All change begins with awareness of what is not working for you.

Anna, your journey from Wall Street to wellness advocacy is fascinating. Can you describe the specific moment where you realized your Type C traits were unsustainable, and what was the first boundary you set for yourself?

Anna: I realized I reached rock bottom one night at a neighborhood dinner with girlfriends. I dragged myself there with a terrible sinus infection, exhaustion, brain fog, arthritis in my hips and knees and a prolapsed uterus. I could barely keep up with the conversation. My friends were all working moms, some with really high powered jobs. Why was I struggling so much and they weren’t? We all had the same life circumstances: early 40s with young kids, big jobs. They were thriving and I was hanging on by a thread. I felt like my battery was going to run out any second.

After several years of living with these health issues and finding excuses for them, or ignoring them, I felt called to do something, to finally at least seek medical help. Around the same time, I heard prolific author Elizabeth Lesser speak about how humans are resistant to change and this was a wake-up call for me. I had been resisting the need to look closer at my health problems. I wound around the medical system for quite some time before coming upon the description of Type C. At that point, I’d made some good strides with my health through better nutrition, therapy, exercise, and reading self help books – but understanding Type C took me to the next level. I finally learned what was at the heart of my toxic over-giving nature.

Once I understood Type C, I learned how to fight for myself. Before, I felt powerless and helpless, like the world and the people in my life were walking all over me. Now, my relationships are healthy. I know how to ask for help. I know how to understand and communicate my needs. I know how to engage in healthy conflict, and I’m not scared of it. I’m in touch with my emotions and I’ve developed my own set of values. All of these are so necessary for deeper, more meaningful relationships. Otherwise, you’re just tagging along with other people’s agendas.

What’s one “sneaky” people-pleasing habit in the workplace that often goes unrecognized?

Anna: Not delegating! Taking on everything asked of you – for Type Cs, we do this because we feel so guilty burdening someone else. So, in the moment, we take the easy way out. We say yes and put it on our plate which helps alleviate our guilt. Though now, our plate is overloaded and we’re burning out, so this wasn’t really the easy way out! A healthier alternative is to change perspective, to see delegation as a way of helping someone else improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities. To do this, we have to sit with the guilt of tasking someone else with something.

In high performance environments, we can be praised and promoted for taking a lot on and doing it all with a smile on our face. If you’re known as someone who gets things done at a high quality level, of course more will be asked of you, which can be flattering, but also can leave us angry and resentful. We have to ask ourselves – will taking this on improve my knowledge, skills, and abilities? Will this take away from my other work, am I spreading myself too thin? How does this further my own career?

Do you have a favorite quote that guides your work?

How strange that the nature of life is change, yet the nature of human beings is to resist change.

Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

We love Elizabeth Lesser. Her work has helped thousands of people find hope and healing through very difficult times. Many Type C people feel broken, ashamed, or less than. As she suggests in this quote, if we open our minds to change, we can make quantum leaps forward in our health and relationships. It takes self awareness and intention and a willingness to see that the old ways of living and interacting are no longer serving you.

What can listeners expect from The Type C Personality podcast?

We have a wide variety of guests on our podcast and they bring such interesting perspectives on Type C. We have everyone from mental health professionals to philosophy experts to mindfulness gurus to real people with real stories of their suffering. Our overarching objective is to help our listeners better understand Type C, feel less alone with its struggles, and learn new evidence-based skills to improve their health and relationships.

How can people learn more about your work?

In addition to our podcast, we have a wealth of free resources that can really help! Our website, www.thetypecpersonality.com, has over 120 blog posts along with other resources. We are active on Instagram (@thetypecpersonality) – and we are very excited for the publication in May 2027 by Harper Collins of our upcoming book, “The Empowered Type C”; it features deeply personal interviews with Type C folks. We know this book will help our readers feel seen and learn new strategies to set boundaries and fight for themselves.

Suppose you could give a talk at the original Plato’s Academy in Athens.

First of all, sign us up. We love to travel and Greek food is some of the most delicious in the world! In all seriousness, the ancient Greek philosophers contributed so much to our understanding of the world and of each other, so it would be an honor to speak on such hallowed ground! We like to think that our Type C project also makes a small contribution to better understanding of ourselves and each other.

What question would you like to leave us with?

Do you tell the truth in your relationships, including your relationship to yourself? Do you know what you need from other people? Do you feel truly connected to other people? These are all things the Type C personality struggles with.