Submitted:
21 August 2026
Posted:
24 August 2026
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Abstract
Background: Cancer patients experience elevated rates of depression and anxiety compared with the general population. Training cancer care staff to assess distress and deliver brief psychological interventions is effective, but the long-term impact is unclear. This is particularly relevant to the emerging method of deliberate practice in psychological support skills training that focuses on iterative rehearsal of skills with reduced didactic teaching. This study evaluated the long-term impact of brief, deliberate practice-based psychological support skills training and subsequent skills-focused supervision on cancer care staff’s assessment and intervention skills, mental wellbeing, work engagement, and burnout. Methods: A non-randomised, prospective, longitudinal design was applied across six UK National Health Service organisations. Cancer care staff who attended a two-day training and were invited to attend ongoing supervision completed follow-up measures up to four years post-training (n = 307). Multilevel linear mixed models examined change over time. Results: Large improvements in core skills were maintained at long-term follow-up (d = 1.34-1.96). Advanced skills showed initial large gains (d = 1.39) with partial attenuation over time (d = 0.79). Work engagement, burnout, and well-being were stable over time (ds between ≤0.18–0.26). Group supervision attendance was associated with greater improvement in core skills and stronger maintenance of advanced skills. Conclusions: Deliberate practice-based training is associated with durable improvements in psychological support skills up to four years post-training. Ongoing group supervision may enhance long-term skill consolidation. Such training may strengthen psychological support in cancer care.
Keywords:
cancer
; healthcare staff
; deliberate practice
; oncology
; psychological therapy
; training
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