Substance Use Treatment and Its Role in Supporting Social Cognition

Despite the lack of a consensus on the conceptualization of empathy among researchers and practitioners, psychologists generally agree that empathy and valuable interpersonal relations are contingent upon the willingness to understand another's perspective as well as share feelings and experiences. Adults with a variety of substance use disorders (SUDs) experience impairments in various facets of empathetic processing compared to healthy controls. Impairments in empathy could lead to a weak therapeutic alliance, lower adherence to treatment, and higher relapse rate. Furthermore, the therapeutic relationship has been described as one of the strongest predictors of treatment drop-out for patients with SUDs. In addition, an impaired ability to relate to and understand the affective and mental state of others may contribute to key typologies of patients with SUDs including, impulsivity, aggression, and antisocial behavior. Review of literature emphasizes a need for research into an understudied, yet modifiable factor of empathy in the trajectory of SUDs. Particularly, identifying specific psychotherapeutic techniques capable of improving the expression of empathy in these patients. Given the importance of empathetic ability in optimal social functioning, understanding whether empathetic impairments improve with treatment is important to achieve the best treatment outcomes for individuals struggling with SUDs.This study will help improve the knowledge and understanding of how substance use treatment affects empathy, as measured by gains in empathetic ability in treatment seeking individuals. To date, there are no reported studies that examined the impact of residential SU treatment on empathy. The study will be an observational quasi-experimental design that utilizes a pre-test and post-test to examine change in empathy for recently detoxed substance use patients and a follow-up assessment to monitor long term outcomes. The results of this study will further our understanding of treatment's potential role in cultivating a fundamental interpersonal skill, empathy.