Cognitive training and remediation interventions for substance use disorders: A Delphi consensus study

Abstract Background and Aims Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with cognitive deficits that are not always addressed in current treatments, and this hampers recovery. Cognitive training and remediation interventions are well suited to fill the gap for managing cognitive deficits in SUD. We aimed to reach consensus on recommendations for developing and applying these interventions. Design Delphi approach with two sequential phases: survey development and iterative surveying of experts. Setting Online study. Participants During survey development, we engaged a group of 15 experts from a working group of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (Steering Committee). During the surveying process, we engaged a larger pool of experts (n=53) identified via recommendations from the Steering Committee and a systematic review. Measurements Survey with 67 items covering four key areas of intervention development, i.e., targets, intervention approaches, active ingredients, and modes of delivery. Findings Across two iterative rounds (98% retention rate), the experts reached a consensus on 50 items including: (i) implicit biases, positive affect, arousal, executive functions, and social processing as key targets of interventions; (ii) cognitive bias modification, contingency management, emotion regulation training, and cognitive remediation as preferred approaches; (iii) practice, feedback, difficulty-titration, bias-modification, goal setting, strategy learning, and meta-awareness as active ingredients; and (iv) both addiction treatment workforce and specialized neuropsychologists facilitating delivery, together with novel digital-based delivery modalities. Conclusions Expert recommendations on cognitive training and remediation for SUD highlight the relevance of targeting implicit biases, reward, emotion regulation, and higher-order cognitive skills via well-validated intervention approaches qualified with mechanistic techniques and flexible delivery options.