Coping is derived from the Latin ‘caps, capae’, which are a feminine terms for ‘cape’ or ‘cloak’.

Mechanism: 1. (within a machine or machinery) any mechanical means for the conversion or control of motion, or the transmission or control of power. 2. Any combination of cams, gears, links, belts, chains and logical mechanical elements.

Coping mechanisms are how you adapt to external stress, whether consciously or unconsciously, in order to provide psychological comfort, take control of a situation or delay a reaction until you are better equipped to deal with a problem.

What coping mechanisms do you use on a day-to-day basis? How do you define ‘coping’? How can group meetings or a group identity serve as a coping mechanism? What are we now coping from, in 2017? How do we ensure our coping mechanisms are healthy? What collective or cultural coping mechanisms are currently in place?

Initiated by Leah Clements in 2015 and based at Res., the Empath Group has been meeting regularly to discuss empathy. Each meeting is given a topic to talk about in relation to empathy – we talk about what it might mean to be an empath, the role of empathy in society and its presence or absence on both a personal level and wider scale.

Leah Clements (b. UK) is an artist based in London, whose practice is concerned with the relationship between psychological, emotional, and physical states. Her work spans film, photography, performance, writing, installation and other media. Recent performances and presentations include Jupiter Woods, London (2016); Turf Projects, London (2016); Serpentine Galleries Radio (2016); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2015); and Open School East, London (2015).