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Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment


Although mental health/behavioral problems, such as depression/anxiety disorders and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, now affect approximately 1 in 4 children, adolescents and young adults, less than 25% receive any treatment. Overweight and obesity affects approximately 32 percent of children and adolescents, with higher prevalence rates in minority populations.

Furthermore, mental health problems are often co-morbid with overweight, and the prevalence of mental health problems is higher in vulnerable populations. Evidence-based interventions are urgently needed to enhance mental health/coping outcomes in these high risk populations and reduce healthcare costs. Dr. Bernadette Melnyk has developed and tested a series of intervention programs called COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) to improve the mental/behavioral health outcomes and healthy lifestyle behaviors in at-risk populations. The COPE Programs are manualized so that they can be readily implemented by clinicians in healthcare settings and teachers in schools to improve outcomes in children, adolescents and college students/young adults.

1. The COPE Program for Depressed and Anxious Teens

12 to 18 years of age, is a 7-session manualized cognitive-behavioral skills building intervention program that can be delivered in primary care, school-based clinics and mental health settings in brief 25-30 minute sessions or in more traditional 50 minute class sessions. It is based on evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy, the gold standard treatment for depression, anxiety and a number of other mental health disorders, and formatted in a manner that can be delivered by a variety of health providers and teachers after a four hour training workshop. Four studies have demonstrated the positive effects of this program in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as improving self-concept when delivered to adolescents in individual and group format. An 8 to 11-year old COPE program also is available along with a college student/young adult program.

2. The COPE/Healthy Lifestyles TEEN (Thinking, Emotions, Exercise, and Nutrition) Program

The COPE TEEN Program is a manualized 15-session cognitive-behavioral skills building (CBSB) healthy lifestyle intervention program for 12 to 18 year old adolescents, designed to be integrated into a student’s health course or taught in group and individual sessions in primary care or specialty care settings. Since many teens who are overweight also have low self-esteem as well as heightened depressive and anxiety symptoms, a key innovation in the COPE TEEN program is the CBSB, which teaches teens that how they think directly impacts how they feel and how they behave. The 15-session program also incorporates education and skills building on healthy nutrition, physical activity, self-esteem, coping with stress, problem-solving, and goal setting.

3. The on-line COPE Program

12 to 18 years of age, is a 7-session manualized cognitive-behavioral skills building intervention program that can be delivered in primary care, school-based clinics and mental health settings in brief 25-30 minute sessions or in more traditional 50 minute class sessions. It is based on evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy, the gold standard treatment for depression, anxiety and a number of other mental health disorders, and formatted in a manner that can be delivered by a variety of health providers and teachers after a four hour training workshop. Four studies have demonstrated the positive effects of this program in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as improving self-concept when delivered to adolescents in individual and group format. An 8 to 11-year old COPE program also is available along with a college student/young adult program.

Goal of the COPE Programs

How they feel

The COPE Programs teach children, teenagers and young adults that how they think is directly related to how they feel and how they behave.

Healthy lifestyle

The program also teaches children and teens about healthy lifestyle choices/behaviors and reinforces that everyone has stress that has to be dealt with.

Skill Building

The program also takes critical components from cognitive-behavioral therapy and formats them in an easy to administer cognitive-behavior skills building program that can be delivered by a variety of healthcare and educational professionals, including teachers, nurses, counselors and social workers, after a day of training.