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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Enhanced Communication Skills: development and evaluation of a novel training programme
Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J. Hulbert-Williams, Lee Patterson, Pandora Suleman, Sahil Howells, Lesley
Hulbert-Williams, Nicholas J.
Hulbert-Williams, Lee
Patterson, Pandora
Suleman, Sahil
Howells, Lesley
Advisors
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Other Contributors
EPub Date
Publication Date
2021-03-24
Submitted Date
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Other Titles
Improving psychological knowledge and skills for cancer care professionals working in supportive and palliative settings: development and evaluation of an innovative Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Enhanced Communication Skills Training Programme
Abstract
Background: Psychological suffering is ubiquitous with cancer and frequently presents as an
unmet supportive care need. In clinical practice, distress-related needs are often addressed by nurses and non-psychologist allied healthcare professionals who may have limited training in psychological therapeutic frameworks, particularly more recently-developed interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Aims: We developed a single-day training programme for professionals working in supportive and palliative cancer care settings to change the nature of clinical communication about psychological distress and suffering towards an ACT-consistent approach.
Method: We report on experiences of training delivery, and evaluation data about training satisfaction and intention to apply the training to clinical practice, from three training iterations in British and Australian, government-funded and charitable sectors. One hundred and sixteen cancer care professionals participated in the training. Evaluation data was collected from 53 participants (at either two-week or three-month follow-up, or both) using self-report survey including both quantitative and free-text questions.
Results: At two-week follow-up, 73% of trainees rating our course as having relevance to their work, and at three-month follow up, 46% agreed that they were better placed to provide improved clinical services. Qualitative feedback supported the inclusion of experiential learning and theoretical explanations underpinning ACT techniques. Undertaking this training did not significantly increase trainees’ stress levels, nor did implementation of this new way of working negatively affect staff wellbeing. Positive, ACT-consistent, changes in communication behaviours and attitudes were reported, however there was a lack of significant change in psychological flexibility.
Discussion: Acceptability and applicability of this training to supportive and palliative healthcare is positive. The lack of change in psychological flexibility suggests a potential need for more experiential content in the training programme. Logistical challenges in one training group suggests the need for more robust train-the-trainer models moving forward.
Citation
Hulbert-Williams N, Hulbert-Williams L, Patterson P, Suleman S & Howells L (2024). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) -enhanced communication skills: Development and evaluation of a novel training programme. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 14, e2154-e2162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002786
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Journal
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care
Research Unit
DOI
10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002786
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
Description
This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002786
Series/Report no.
ISSN
2045-435X
EISSN
2045-4368