The Role of Cognitive Coping Mechanisms in the Psychotherapeutic Approach of the Major Depressive Disorder

The depressive disorder represents nowadays an important global health problem, with severe effects for the affected person and for the society as a whole. The psycho-social factors are a major risk element in the onset of depression, overlapping both on the individual vulnerabilities of the affected person, and on the coping mechanisms, especially the disadaptive one. Our study aims were the comparative evaluation of the cognitive coping mechanisms in the evolution of depression and in determining the quality of the therapeutic response in two samples of depressive patients benefiting from pharmacologic treatment, respectively pharmacologic therapy and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. The most frequently used cognitive coping strategies in the depressive patients from the two samples in the study were predominantly maladaptive, more precisely ruminating, catastrophizing, self-culpability, respectively putting into perspective. It was evident though that the adaptative coping mechanisms, such as accepting the current situation, positive refocus and positive re-evaluation, are protective factors contributing to reaching psycho-social rehabilitation and granting support to the combined therapeutic intervention. Consequently, the identification of coping mechanisms dominant in each individual with major depression is required in order to increase the efficiency of cognitive behavior therapy as enhancer for pharmaco-therapy.