Efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation for patients with alcohol dependence

Patients with alcohol dependence show cognitive impairment of cognitive functions. Cognitive rehabilitation is a behavioral treatment that uses drill and practice, compensatory and adaptive strategies to facilitate improvement in targeted cognitive areas like memory, attention and problem solving, cognitive flexibility, planning, and executive functioning. The main aim of the present study was investigating the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation program for cognitive impairment, in terms of attention, memory, and executive functioning of chronic alcohol dependence patients. The data was collected from 40 patients of long term alcohol dependence (20 patients in intervention and 20 in control group) and selected using purposive sampling technique from Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS). They were screened for hand preference and severity of alcohol dependence though Hand Preference Battery and Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ-C). Further, AIIMS Comprehensive Neuropsychological Battery in Hindi was administered before and after intervention. Only intervention group received cognitive rehabilitation. Result shows intervention group improved after cognitive rehabilitation than the control group who did not receive the intervention.