Deficit of social cognition in mental disorders and the possibilities of its rehabilitation

Abstract

The term social cognition refers to a number of abilities used for the reception of social information from the environment. Many studies on social cognition focus on processes such as mentalisation, otherwise referred to as the theory of mind, emotional perception and attribution style. Since issues related to social cognition have become a subject of interest to psychiatry, the range in which it is explored has broadened considerably. From the perspective of the deficit of cognitive functions, we can analyze not only such disorders as autism but also schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. This paper presents the problem of social cognition in the context of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It was noted that social cognition deficits are characteristic not only for patients in a state of acute illness, but also in a state of clinical compensation. Furthermore, two general trends in development of the rehabilitation methods used in psychiatric disorders have been presented: 1) a method known as cognitive rehabilitation, focused on improving cognitive functions and 2) a method of rehabilitation of social functioning. This article provides an overview of methods for the rehabilitation of deficits in social cognition, with particular emphasis on rehabilitation of the mentalisation process. It is assumed that rehabilitation of social functioning, an integral part of which are interventions in the scope of social cognition, is a method which, along with pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy and psychoeducation, corresponds best to the needs of people with mental disorders.