COPE© is endorsed as an evidence-based program by the National Institutes of Health/NCI and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.
COPE© is endorsed as an evidence-based program by the National Institutes of Health/NCI and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare.
Every day, millions of children, teens, young adults and adults struggle with stress, anxiety, and depression—but far too many never receive the evidence-based help they need.
COPE© (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) was developed to close that gap. Built on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles, COPE© equips participants with practical skills to recognize negative thought patterns, challenge them, and replace them with healthier ways of thinking.
Through short, structured sessions, participants learn to:
COPE© and MINDBODYSTRONG© are built on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — an evidence-based approach that helps people understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The programs give participants practical tools to recognize negative thought patterns, challenge them, and replace them with healthier, more positive ways of thinking.
Each session is designed to be:
By the end of the programs, participants learn to:
COPE© and MINDBODYSTRONG© are mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavioral skills-building programs that empower children, teens, young adults, adults, pregnant women and the healthcare workforce with lifelong tools to take charge of their emotions and mental health as well as engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Discover how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected through short, engaging lessons.
Use simple activities, discussions, and real-life examples to strengthen coping strategies.
Put new skills into action at school, home, or work to manage stress, anxiety, depression and life’s challenges.
Build confidence, resilience, and healthier lifestyle habits that last long after the program ends.
COPE© and MINDBODYSTRONG© aren’t just inspiring—these programs are evidence-based. Over the past 25 years and 30 published studies, the programs have demonstrated powerful outcomes:
To date, over 250,000 individuals across the U.S. and globe have benefitted from the COPE© and MINDBODYSTRONG© programs.
Dr. Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, APRN-CNP, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN is the visionary founder of COPE2Thrive.
Her journey began in rural Pennsylvania, where she lost her mother as a teenager and faced years of untreated post-traumatic stress and depression. Determined to ensure others wouldn’t have to endure the same struggles, Dr. Melnyk dedicated her career to creating accessible, evidence-based tools for mental health.
Today, she is recognized internationally as a pediatric nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse practitioner, researcher, author, and speaker. Her impact includes:
620+ publications and 11 books, including A Practical Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Screening, Early Intervention, and Health Promotion.
$36M+ in funded research to improve mental health and healthcare outcomes.
Service on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, National Quality Forum, and numerous health leadership boards.
Recognition as an Edge Runner by the American Academy of Nursing for innovative, evidence-based programs that improve health outcomes.
Recipient of national and international awards, including the NIH/NINR Distinguished Lectureship Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty, and induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame.
Dr. Melnyk’s mission is clear: to put proven, life-changing coping skills into the hands of every child, teen, and adult who needs them.
COPE© isn’t just a program—it’s a pathway to resilience, hope, and healthier futures. Whether you’re a parent, teen, educator, or healthcare provider, COPE© has a model designed for you.
For Bernadette Melnyk, the COPE Program is the realization of a lifelong dream to bring young people the type of help that was unavailable to her during her own difficult teenage years. When Bern was 15 years of age, her mother died suddenly from a stroke right in front of her. The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression that followed lasted a few years and went untreated. At that time, and in rural Pennsylvania where Bern grew up, mental health disorders were not routinely recognized or talked about much. Mental health stigma in her small rural coal-mining town was prevalent. Sadly, it still exists across the U.S. today.
Bern is a nationally/internationally recognized author, speaker, practitioner, researcher and expert in child, adolescent and young adult mental health, evidence-based practice, intervention research and health and well-being. She has over 580 publications, including a book entitled A Practical Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Screening, Early Intervention, and Health Promotion (3rd edition) (2022). New York, NY: Springer Publishing and NAPNAP.
For Bern, caring for others was the start of her recovery. She graduated from nursing school at West Virginia University, and started practicing in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. She holds a Master’s Degree with a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) specialty from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed her PhD and post-master’s certificate as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at the University of Rochester. Bern had a mental health practice in Rochester, New York, and was a consultant for a child and adolescent in-patient psychiatric center in Upstate New York for several years. She has extensive experience in integrating mental and physical healthcare as well as conducting workshops with health professionals on how to better screen for, identify, and provide evidence-based management for a variety of child and adolescent mental health disorders. Bern is a frequent invited keynote speaker at national and international conferences.
Bern’s ultimate goal is to get COPE into the hands of every child, teen, and young adult who suffers from stress, depression, anxiety or other mental health disorders that keep them from living a happy, healthy, full life as well as to deliver the program to all children and youth in order to prevent mental health problems and enhance healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Bern has been recognized as an Edge Runner by the American Academy of Nursing for her evidence-based programs that decrease depression/anxiety and improve healthy lifestyle behaviors in children, teens and young adults/college students. Her COPE TEEN program is also a designated research tested intervention (RTIP) program by NIH.
