Two overlapping but conceptually distinct approaches have been developed to describe how members of intimate dyads deal with adversity. In the social support approach, it is typically assumed that one individual has a problem and the other offers assistance in dealing with the problem. In the dyadic coping approach, an ideal is offered in which both members of the couple “own” the problem and take responsibility for coping with it as a team. A selective review of dyadic coping research is provided, including a range of research methods (linguistic analysis, qualitative interviews, experimental studies, and longitudinal projects). Most notably, these studies have shown that in the context of an ill partner, the healthy partner’s construal of the illness as a “we-disease” that is tackled jointly by both partners predicts better health outcomes and higher quality relationship assessments over time. The primary insight from dyadic coping is that the roles of “victim” and “helper” are not always necessary; couples can cope as equal partners, regardless of who is primarily impacted by the stressor. Useful contributions from the social support literature include insights into the conditions under which specific types of support are most effective (“optimal matching”) and how social psychological processes affect the quality of support exchanges. An integration of the two perspectives and directions for future research are suggested.