Rollo May was the writer most responsible for introducing European existentialism to U.S. readers. May reflects Sartre's view in his belief that the person cannot be seen in just terms of mechanisms and drives. That removes what is most personal and uniquely human, and blocks our understanding of what the person is really experiencing. The one real datum we have in the therapeutic situation is the existing person sitting in a consulting room with a therapist. An emphasis on the concept of transference can undermine therapy in that it denies the reality of the relationship.
Transference is the distortion of encounter.
Characteristics of anxiety include uncertainty and helplessness in the face of the danger. Anxiety is apprehension cued off by a threat to some value which the person holds essential. If negotiated successfully, these experiences can lead to greater independence and to re-establishment of the relations with parents and others on new levels. Neurotic anxiety is the result of not facing normal anxiety. To run away from anxiety means automatically surrendering a measure of one's freedom.