Background: Cerebral neuroplasticity is compromised due to substance abuse. There is damage to neuronal areas that are involved in memory and executive functioning. Treatments with worse outcomes are often associated with cognitive deficits that have resulted from substance dependence. However, there is evidence that cognitive training can lead to improvements in cognitive functions and can be useful when treating addictions. This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive training in memory, executive functioning, and processing speed in individuals with substance use disorder (SUD).Methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute's PICO strategy was used to develop this systematic literature review. Four databases were searched (PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO) to identify controlled randomized clinical studies and quasi-experimental studies, in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, from 1985 to 2019. The literature found was examined by two independent reviewers, who assessed the quality of studies that met the inclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for the randomized controlled trials and the ROBINS-I tool for non-randomized studies were used to assess the risk of bias. In data extraction, the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews was considered.Results: From a total of 470 studies, 319 were selected for analysis after the elimination of duplicates. According to the inclusion criteria defined, 26 studies were eligible and evaluated. An evaluation was performed considering the participant characteristics, countries, substance type, study and intervention details, and key findings. Of the 26 selected studies, 14 considered only alcoholics, six included participants with various SUD (alcohol and other substances), three exclusively looked into methamphetamine-consuming users and another three into opioid/methadone users. Moreover, 18 studies found some kind of cognitive improvement, with two of these reporting only marginally significant effects. One study found improvements only in measures similar to the training tasks, and two others had ambiguous results.Conclusions: The included studies revealed the benefits of cognitive training with regard to improving cognitive functions in individuals with SUD. Memory was the most scrutinized cognitive function in this type of intervention, and it is also one of the areas most affected by substance use.Systematic Review Registration: [PROSPERO], identifier [CRD42020161039].

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to understand the current state of the art about the effectiveness of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) on individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), taking into account not only SUD variables (e.g., cravings, frequency of use) but also other relevant clinical variables (e.g., anxiety and depressive symptoms, quality of life). Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted to identify studies that investigate MBRP interventions on individuals with SUD. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were synthesized and assessed using systematic review methods. Results: Thirteen studies were included in the present review. The methodological quality of the included studies was moderately strong. Nine studies (69.2%) used the traditional 16 h MBRP program. Six studies (46.1%) chose to use a co-intervention treatment ranging from the treatment as usual (TAU) to cognitive behavioral therapy. All but one study indicated that their interventions produced positive effects on at least one addiction outcome measure. None of the interventions were evaluated across different settings or populations. Conclusions: Despite some heterogeneity regarding the type of MBRP program used, results support the effectiveness of these interventions in the SUD population, especially in reducing cravings, decreasing the frequency of use, and improving depressive symptoms.

Objective This study sought to analyse the relationship between mindfulness, spiritual well‐being and chronic depression, together with the possible predictive power of the independent variables, during and after a therapeutic intervention. Clients were treated in a residential therapeutic unit for a period of 3–6 months. Method The research sample consisted of 63 patients, 28 females and 35 males, between 15 and 57 years old (M = 32.84, SD = 10.24), separated into two groups: residential phase (In‐Treatment) and after termination of treatment (Post‐Treatment). The In‐Treatment group included 32 participants halfway into treatment, and the Post‐Treatment group included 31 participants who had concluded the intervention at least 1 year previously. All the clients had been diagnosed with chronic depression disorder. The instruments used were as follows: the Beck Depression Inventory‐II, the Five facet mindfulness questionnaire and the spiritual well‐being questionnaire. Results Mindfulness dimensions are more relevant during treatment, contrary to spiritual well‐being dimensions. There were significant negative associations between mindfulness and depression in the In‐Treatment group. In the Post‐Treatment group, there were significant negative associations between all the spiritual dimensions (barring the transcendental dimension) and depression. The non‐reactivity dimension of mindfulness was a significant predictor of depression in the In‐Treatment group, while the environmental dimension of spiritual well‐being was a significant predictor in the Post‐Treatment group. Conclusion The results support the known associations between the studied variables, but indicate that in different phases of treatments, mindfulness and spiritual well‐being have a different impact.

No abstract