Background and aims: The psychosocial needs of families with severely ill children are extensive. Despite this, there are few family-based psychosocial interventions that target all family member’s needs that have been scientifically evaluated. Even fewer have been evaluated in a long-term perspective. This study describe parents’ retention after having participated in a psychosocial family-based intervention, the Family Talk Intervention (FTI), 4-5 years earlier in pediatric oncology.

Methods: This interview study was conducted during spring 2023 and included 30 parents from 18 families (16 mothers and 14 fathers) who participated in FTI 4-5 earlier. FTI consists of 6-11 manual-based meetings, often led by an FTI-educated social worker. The main goals of FTI are to facilitate family communication about illness-related topics, support parenting, and making the children’s needs visible. Data were analyzed with content analysis.

Results: Parents learned strategies during FTI some of which they still use 4 to 5 years later, i.e., strategies that help them to continue to share their thoughts and emotions and to keep an open communication within the family. Parents perceive this helps to reduce stress in the family. Strategies also helped them to put the spotlight on the children in the family, and to increase the democracy in the family. Their participation in FTI was a springboard and contributed to a willingness regarding participation in new contexts outside the hospital with other bereaved parents where the most difficult feelings and emotions can be shared.

Conclusions: From the Family Talk intervention parents of children with cancer, express they learned strategies that persists the long-term. These strategies have helped them to keep an open communication in their daily family life and to put the spotlight on the children. It seems that what parents learnt in FTI increased their resilience when facing adverse life events long-term.