Effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in substance use disorder. A literature review

Abstract

Objective: to review whether cognitive rehabilitation (CR) has demonstrated efficacy in reversing the cognitive deficits produced by substance use disorder (SUD) and in improving adherence to addiction treatment programmes. Material and method: a literature review was carried out in the Dialnet and PubMed databases of scientific articles in Spanish and English published in the last 10 years. Results: the total result of the literature search was 883 articles. After reviewing the title and abstract of all the articles, a total of 32 articles were selected. With the secondary search, three articles and a book chapter were selected. After full reading of the texts, 23 scientific articles and one book chapter were finally selected. Discussion: CR appears to be an effective option for reversing or compensating the cognitive deficits produced by substance abuse, and promising for improving the outcomes of standard addiction treatment. In addition, CR could increase the effectiveness of other treatments used in patients diagnosed with SUD, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy. Recommendations: it would be advisable to include neuropsychological assessment and CR in the initial phases of addiction treatment, as well as to reserve the more cognitively demanding therapies for the point at which the person has an acceptable cognitive state, in order to improve treatment effectiveness and adherence.