The Cognitive Skills Component in Substance Abuse Treatment in Correctional Settings: A Brief Review

Cognitive skills training programs of different types have been used with various populations, including substance abusers, to successfully teach skills so that individuals can function more adaptively. Yet, with a few notable exceptions, there is a paucity of reports in the literature describing the inclusion of a cognitive skills component in correctional substance abuse treatment. Moreover, there is a serious lack of substance abuse treatment programs in many of the nation's jails; this is in spite of the fact that a substantial number of the nation's prisoners have been identified as substance abusers or are incarcerated for drug-related crimes. This article provides a brief overview of cognitive skills interventions, and highlights two correctional treatment programs that incorporated a cognitive component and provided for a controlled outcome evaluation.