Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS)

Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) is a strengths-based group model for youth ages 12-21 who have been exposed to chronic trauma and/or stress. Treatment consists of 16 one-hour sessions. SPARCS is appropriate for youth who experience functional impairments including difficulties with:
The SPARCS is a good fit for agencies with:
The SPARCS is a good fit for group facilitators and group supports who:
SPARCS can be delivered in a variety of clinical and community settings (e.g., outpatient clinics, schools, residential treatment facilities.) SPARCS has also been successfully delivered in juvenile justice and child welfare settings.
In the United States, 61% of children are affected by violence, abuse, or crime, putting them at increased risk for depression, academic problems, violent behavior, substance use, delinquency, teen pregnancy, and other emotional-behavioral challenges. Lifetime costs of childhood maltreatment are estimated at $210,012 per case.
Increase effective coping skills
Enhance self-efficacy and self-esteem
Cultivate awareness and mindfulness
Create meaning relative to experiences
Master developmental tasks unique to adolescence
Optimize communication and problem solving skills
Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescent Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) Learning Collaboratives train teams from community based mental health agencies and schools. Our model relies on clinicians training together with an administrative leader from their agency to ensure successful implementation and sustainability.
SPARCS Learning Collaboratives include 7 face-to-face training days with bi-weekly team consultation calls between training dates. In order to graduate, each team must deliver SPARCS to at least 2 groups.
SPARCS groups are usually led by 1 Group Facilitator and 1 Group Support OR 2 Group Facilitators. Agency teams are led by 1 or more Senior Leaders.
Group Facilitator (clinician):
Group Support:
Senior Leader:
Visit the Training Opportunities page to see the training and related costs for upcoming trainings.
We offer 1 training cohort per year in SPARCS. Training cohorts are 12 months long and consist of face-to-face learning sessions and faculty consultation. Contact NC CTP for more information.