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The article discusses the clinical use of Peak and Nadir experience reports. The rise of clinical interest in existential problems raises the issue of how existential data are to be brought within objective frames of reference. To date, experimental-statistical studies of existential problems are almost completely lacking and methods for bringing such data into the laboratory have yet to be developed. A "nadir" experience may be described operationally as a subjective experiencing of what is subjectively recognized to be one of the lowest points of life, one of the worst, most unpleasant and harrowing experiences of life.

The article presents a study that focuses on school phobia in an obese girl. A child who refuses to attend school should be given priority attention and should whenever possible be returned to school immediately. Not every child who refuses to attend school comes from a pathological family. The person handling the case should be sensitive to the problem and its potential solutions. Too many such cases are lost in the personal problems of workers who see their job as "giving tests" or "doing evaluations. Rapid understanding of the case should be followed by immediate action, preferably at the point of initial contact.