COPE WITH vs DEAL WITH

1 - to take action to do something, especially to solve a problem (In these cases it is not possible to use cope with).

2 - to accept and control a difficult emotional situation so that you can start to live a normal life again despite it (here, cope with can also be used).

When a person copes with something, it means they deal successfully with a difficult situation (the same as in the second meaning of deal with).

Whereas in the first meaning of deal with we solve the problem or resolve a situation, in using cope with and the second meaning of deal with, we get through or manage a situation despite the problem (the problem still exists).

An important difference in usage is that deal with always takes an object - we have to say deal with *something* -whereas we can use cope without an object.