Existential Assessment

Summary

Present day psychological assessment stems from a philosophy of sicence that values objectivity but fails to comprehend the existence of the person being evaluated. A humanistic-existential model shifts the focus from omnipotence to encounter and encourages client responsibility. The vehicle for this conceptualization is the nature and meaning of the encounter between clinician and client. New questions are posed for the assessor by altering the assessment goals, the stance toward interpretation, and the criterion for validation.