EILEEN KENNEDY MOORE and JEANNE C. WATSON Expressing Emotion: Myths, Realities, and Therapeutic Strategies New York: The Guilford Press, 1999, 365 pp. (ISBN 1-57230-473-1, US$40, Hardcover) Reviewed by SUSAN M. JOHNSON This book is a timely exposition of the theory, research, and clinical techniques associated with emotion and the expression of emotion. It is a particularly relevant text for clinical psychology in the context of recent discussions of emotional intelligence and the limitations of purely behavioural or cognitive perspectives on human functioning and therapeutic change. It deals with the myths about emotional expression that have permeated the field, such as that emotion is dangerous and to be avoided in therapy, or that the cathartic ventilation of emotion drains negativity much like lancing a wound. This book provides a rich contrast to such simplistic, all or nothing positions on emotion that have so often dominated psychological thinking, especially in the literature on psychotherapy. The book begins with a process model of expression/nonexpression that explicates the various levels of expressiveness and the variables, such as negative attitudes towards emotion that operate at various points in the process. It also discusses the various components of emotion and key themes such as the interplay between cognition and emotion. The second part of the book focuses upon intrapersonal emotional processes. Here, as elsewhere in the book, the authors intersperse clear discussion and argument with relevant research findings and cogent clinical examples. The authors discuss the concept of catharsis and the positive and negative possibilities in the expression of anger, crying, and the expression of pain arising from trauma. They acknowledge the complexities of dealing with emotion: that it is, for example, a sign of and a way of coping with distress. They point out that expression can prolong and intensify negative emotions or expression can change negative emotions. On the positive side, the expression of emotion such as anger can foster cognitive reinterpretation, the creation of new meanings, and interpersonal changes such as more assertive behaviours. The authors point out the costs of denying and inhibiting emotions as well as the costs of emotional flooding. In general, the ability to be aware and voice one's emotions while keeping them within manageable limits provides new insight and a new sense of direction to individuals and can be essential in regulating their social relationships. The authors suggest that emotion is like an internal compass directing us towards adaptive coping efforts and the achievement of life goals. The third part of the book deals with interpersonal processes including how emotional behaviour is socialized in the family context and the influence of attachment on emotional expression. It then goes on to focus on the expression of love and offers a very balanced perspective of the differences between men and women in this area, concluding that they are more similar than different. In general, the authors conclusions are intriguing and pertinent. For example, they conclude that it may be more important for relationship satisfaction that partners agree on a style of relating than that they reach some specific level of communication skills. Similarity in skill level may be more important than high levels of skill. …