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

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Abstract
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.