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Teaching patients and their caregivers appropriate coping skills can have a significant impact on the way they perceive their condition, the severity of the symptoms, and the psychological distress associated with it. In patients diagnosed with lung cancer, assertive communication was associated with less pain interference and psychological distress; coping skills effects extend to family caregivers who reported less psychological distress when practicing guided imagery. Other coping mechanisms as mindfulness might not be as beneficial in certain situations.[17] [Level 2] Physicians, psychiatrists, physical therapists, nurses, and health educators share the role of educating patients to become more responsible for their health. Interprofessional involvement can help patients cope better with the symptoms of their illnesses. Coping skills training programs didn't prove to be effective in reducing pain severity among knee osteoarthritis patients. They did not confer pain or functional benefit beyond that with surgical and postoperative care, but combining both physical exercises and coping skills training with treatment had a more significant improvement.[18][19][20] [Level 1, Level 2]

Understanding the coping styles is central to support the patient's coping efforts. Talking with the medical staff to seek information and social support was the most popular coping strategy in anxious surgical patients. Monitoring patients' coping strategies using various coping scales (e.g., COPE, Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Coping Strategies Questionnaire) can help in evaluating the patient's psychological status and continued improvement.[21]