Strategies for Coping with Stress -Cognitive-behavioral Approaches-

Cognitive-behavioral approach can be clinically applied to coping with stress, because cognitions are playing a central mediating role in the occurances of stress and stress reactions. In other words, cognitive distortions can be associated with causing and/or maintaining psychopathology. The goal of cognitive-behavioral approach is to help the patients identify and alter cognitive distortions and maladaptive assumptions. This approach is aimed not at curing but rather at helping the patients to develop better coping strategies to deal with their life and work. The cognitive-behavioral techniques often used in this approach include problem solving, hypothesis-testing, self-monitoring, cognitive challenges, generating alternatives to automatic cognitive distortions, self-instruction, attribution and reattribution, and techniques to control or suppress thoughts. This approach is considered to be helpful for treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders including psychosomatic disorders, in which stress can greatly affect their onset and course.ope