Our clients are frequently driven to seek therapy as they are experiencing strong and intolerable negative emotion, whether this be intense despair, fear or disgust. Emotion in Therapy presents a useful guide in how to use a focus on emotion to shape a treatment approach which cuts across diagnostic categories. Hofmann's recent research explores symptoms of psychological disturbance as interrelated elements of a complex network, rather than a list of diagnostic criteria, and his book is a continuation of this emphasis on transdiagnostic approaches drawn from empirical evidence. The book is a fantastic example of how basic science can be used to inform novel clinical techniques, and Hofmann elegantly completes this task in an engaging and approachable manner which will appeal to researchers, clinicians and clinical researchers who seek to bridge science and clinical practice.

Each chapter of the book provides an overview of theory and research on an aspect of emotion followed by a discussion of clinical application. Useful sections for the clinician include a summary of clinically relevant points and insightful ‘In Practice’ sections offering a case study of a therapist-client interaction, which demonstrates how to use cognitive behavioural techniques to apply the theory. The book also includes a number of tools to aid implementation including worksheets that can be used with clients, and ‘Therapist Cheat Sheets’ which provide a clear guide of how to shape a case-formulated treatment. The Appendix continues the scientist-practitioner theme, listing self-report measures of emotion that can be used to track treatment progress, and providing more detail on specific techniques that you may like to use in therapy (e.g. expressive writing, progressive muscle relaxation).

The book begins by offering a basic explanation of emotion, and how the experience of emotion is multi-dimensional (chapters 1 and 2), before describing the relationship between emotion and motivation (chapter 3). The latter chapters are where the book excels, providing an in-depth consideration of the relationship between the self and emotion (chapter 4), which may prove particularly useful to consider for those with recurring and treatment-resistant symptoms. This is followed by the intra- and interpersonal strategies that clients may use to regulate emotion (chapter 5). Although the book offers comment on a range of therapeutic approaches, the cognitive behavioural approach is strong throughout, and chapter 6 comprehensively addresses appraisal and re-appraisal of emotion.

A key strength of the book is the separate consideration of positive and negative affect. This is introduced in the first pages of the book, and comprehensively explored in chapter 7, which details treatment approaches to build positive affect. The astute inclusion of the neurobiology of emotional experience (chapter 8) is also a strength of a book targeted towards clinical psychologists, although this is the shortest chapter and perhaps could have been integrated more fully throughout the book.

This book will be of keen interest to those seeking a comprehensive textbook on emotion, particularly trainee psychologists, or for clinicians who find themselves more focused on cognition and behaviour, as it offers a number of helpful techniques and worksheets to more fully elicit the depth and diversity of emotion and round out the therapeutic approach.