the objectives and strategies of existential therapy, Sue, Sue and Sue (1994) note that:
The goal of the existential approach to therapy is to help the individual become aware of his or her own potential for growth, for choice, and for finding meaning in life. (p. 62)
In other words, the existential approach to psychobehavioral problems is one of seeking for illumination that helps the patient understand his life condition. Sue, Sue and Sue (1994) further note that the approach does not really attempt to diagnose. Rather, the goal is for the therapist to perceive the client's "reality" from his/her perspective.
The relationship between the patient and the therapist is another important element of existential therapy. In this regard, the therapist makes strong efforts to avoid behavior that might impede or terminate the genuine quality of his/her relationship with the client as it is this quality of genuiness that is viewed as facilitating psychoemotional growth. This point has been made by Peterson and Nisenholz (1987) who in their discussion of existential therapy report that:
To really know people then, counselors must be able to understand how clients perceive events in their environments and in themselves. In working with clients,counselors need to be in tune with clients' internal frames of reference in order to understand the nature of clients' problems. (p. 125)
Of all the therapies, Bergantino (1977) has stated that existential intervention is the least dehumanizing. Moreover, he reports that the most important element in this therapeutic model is the affirmation of the other person's existence and the owning of what the therapist is doing to which the client is responding. Thus, essential feedback is provided which allows the client to check the accuracy of his perceptions regarding the therapeutic relationship, a skill which must be applied to less benevolent others in the nontherapeutic world.