Education
NCIO GRiT Centre 10-Week CPD Course - Foundations of Integrative Psycho-Oncology and Trauma Competent Care
Next Cohort: September to November 2026 | 20–25 places available
The GRiT Centre is proud to launch its first postgraduate-level training programme: a 10-week CPD course ‘Foundations of Integrative Psycho-Oncology and Trauma Competent Care’, designed for healthcare professionals and integrative practitioners working with people affected by cancer.
Who is this for?
Medical doctors (primary and secondary care) and surgeons at any stage of training
Nurses and nursing students
Allied health professionals (physiotherapy, radiography, nutrition, dietetics, psychology, etc.)
Allied health trainees and students
Patient navigators and support workers in the charity sector
Integrative medicine professionals across the multidisciplinary team
Course Structure
10 weeks | September - November 2026
3 hours per week of taught content
Pre-recorded lectures available on the LMS (learning management system) and weekly drop-in live Q&A (Wednesday evenings 7-8pm)
3 optional on-site training days (Saturdays near Reading, Berkshire): final dates TBC.
Cohort size: 20–25 students
Modalities Covered
Psychosocial impact of cancer from diagnosis to treatment and beyond: anxiety, depression, fear of cancer recurrence and progression, workability, cancer related cognitive decline, family and partners
Psychological therapies: CBT, ACT, CFT, EMDR, AF-EMDR - what these are, how they help and how to refer
Mind-body approaches: mindfulness (MBCT, MBSR, MBCR), hypnosis, EFT, yoga
Specialist interventions: adaptive cognitive training, heart rate variability biofeedback training, interoception training
Neurodiversity in cancer
Paediatric and AYA oncology, advanced disease, and end of life care
Creative therapies: art therapy, music therapy
Lifestyle: nutrition, sleep, exercise, supplementation
Complementary therapies: acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qigong, reflexology, massage, aromatherapy, herbal medicine
Assessments and CPD
Choice of essay, referenced presentation and patient resource, or short research project
CPD accreditation pending with RCGP, RCN, and RCP
Course Fee
£1,950 (a 3-month instalment plan with £650 monthly payments is available)
Limited bursaries may be available for full-time charity sector staff
Applications are now open for September to November 2026 course. Please secure your place for the last course cohort for 2026 by applying through the form below. The following year’s intake will be for January to March 2027.
Applications close 16th August 2026. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Please contact us with any queries on hello@ncio.org.uk.
Meet the NCIO Integrative Psycho-oncology Course Faculty Team
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Course Director and Head of the GRiT (Growth and Resilience in Trauma) Centre
Nazanin Derakhshan moved to the NCIO from her position as a Professor of Experimental Psychopathology in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at The University of Reading, UK. At NCIO she continues as the Founder and Director of The BRiC Centre (Building Resilience in Breast Cancer). Prior to joining Reading University in 2022, she spent 18 years in The Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck University of London, UK, where she was promoted to Full Professor in 2012. Bringing her unique perspective as a breast cancer survivor, she was voted a key transformational figure in 'Birkbeck Inspires, 200th anniversary', for transforming the lives of thousands of people through the research she conducts at BRiC, in 2022.
Nazanin has conducted extensive research into the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying anxiety and depressive vulnerability, as well as developing and applying neurocognitive interventions designed at reducing vulnerability and promoting resilience, especially in vulnerable populations. Naz has been the holder of prestigious fellowships such as The Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship, as well as at The University of Oxford and St John's College Oxford. She was elected a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2016.
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CEO of the NCIO (National Centre for for Integrative Oncology) and award-winning integrative oncology physician
MB BChir (Medicine) and MA Hons Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
MSc Precision Cancer Medicine and PG Dip Health Research with Distinction (Oxford)
FBANT FRSA IFMCP DipIM DipAc DipCHM PGCert DipION RYT200
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is an award-winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine physician scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. Dr Fuller-Shavel is a Fellow of the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-chaired the BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology) over 2021-2023 and is the SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) Global Ambassador to the UK and Chair of the SIO Global Committee, actively contributing to several SIO committees. Alongside her extensive scientific and medical training, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds multiple qualifications in nutrition, integrative medicine, health coaching, herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yoga, mindfulness and other therapeutic approaches. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel has co-authored the book ‘Integrative Oncology in Breast Cancer Care’ with Dr Penny Kechagioglou published by Springer in March 2024.
Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is the founder and Director of Synthesis Clinic, an innovative multidisciplinary practice in Hampshire, specialising in women’s health and integrative cancer care (integrative oncology). Alongside her clinical work, Dr Fuller-Shavel is a guest lecturer in integrative medicine for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and delivers independent educational courses for medical and nutrition professionals, including her Systems Approach to Cancer Programme. Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel participates in research in integrative oncology and precision health, is an expert integrative and supportive oncology abstract reviewer for international conferences and journals, and contributes to journal editorial boards (NMJ and IJIO) and guideline development panels nationally and internationally. Finally, Dr Fuller-Shavel holds two integrative oncology non-profit roles as the CEO of the UK NCIO (National Centre for Integrative Oncology) charity and the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, supporting access to services and best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology.
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Senior nurse with a background in cancer education and oncology CNS roles, health and emotional wellbeing coach and clinical EFT practitioner
Aga deeply believes in human’s inherent abilities to move through life’s adversities, heal, grow and thrive in spite of the challenges life can throw at us. As a cancer coach, educator and now an integrative oncology nurse, Aga supports individuals who have experienced serious life challenges and other long-term health conditions.
Aga draws from her lifetime experience as a nurse and combines her oncology nursing experience with multiple techniques including Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Matrix Reprinting Technique (MRT) and NLP.
Our course is supported and delivered by multiple professionals across different disciplines in addition to our core faculty team. These include psychology, nursing, yoga and yoga therapy, art therapy, clinical hypnosis and other care professionals across the extended multidisciplinary team.
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