Coping, Thinking, and Mental Health Nursing: Cognitions and Their Application to Psychosocial Intervention

Abstract

This article presents a cognitive perspective on coping. It is advanced that cognitions play a central role in coping since they reflect as well as influence how and with what people cope. Coping is seen as the aggregate of efforts aimed at modifying and regulating the impact and consequences of particular situations and events, the ultimate goal being the control of one's experiences. Three cognitive control efforts are discussed: making attributions, selecting attainable outcomes, and finding meaning in an experience. A review of strategies for psychosocial intervention based on these three cognitive processes concludes this article.