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• EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology: California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda, CA: 1995

  • B.A. in Psychology: University of Washington, Seattle, WA: 1990

  • B.A. in English: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: 1984

• CLINICAL & ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Private Practice
    Palo Alto and El Cerrito, CA                                                                                              1997-Present
    Licensed Clinical Psychologist with a particular interest in post-modern approaches to psychotherapy. Practiced in Palo Alto until August 2001. Currently practicing in El Cerrito, CA.

  • Adjunct Clinical Faculty
    California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, CA                            : Sept. 2001-Present
    I teach a course on Family Therapy, and a course on Clinical Supervision.  I also provide supervision to graduate students through the school's Psychological Services Center in Oakland, CA.

  • Teaching Faculty                                                                                                         Association of Family Therapists of Northern California Postgraduate Family Therapy Training Program, Berkeley, CA.                                                                                                                                           Oct. 2004-Present                                                                                                                                                                           I am one of the founding members of this innovative training program designed to enhance the skills of therapists in working working with families and communities through adopting a collaborative approach influenced by a socio-cultural perspective.       

  • Adjunct Clinical Faculty                                                                                                    Argosy University, Point Richmond, CA.                                                                          2003-Present                                                                                                                               I've taught courses on clinical supervision, family therapy, and conducted Argosy's "Intensive" program which involves providing supervision of "live" therapy sessions using reflecting teams.

  • Clinical Instructor                                                                                                                Family Institute of Pinole, Pinole, CA  Oct. 2004-2005                                                            I provided training in Narrative Therapy and supervision of "live" therapy sessions using reflecting teams.

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  • Founding Member
    Mental Research Institute (MRI) OllinQi Center for the Exploration of Alternatives, Changes and Solutions: 1999-2001
    Co-organizer of 2000 conference, Stories of Hope: Responding to Violence Through a Multicultural Lens, featuring Olga Silverstein. Also conducted individual supervision and offered training in Narrative Therapy.

  • Director of Training
    Mental Research Institute (MRI), Palo Alto, CA: 1998-1999
    Expanded the training offerings at MRI to make them more relevant and to provide alternative theoretical perspectives in addition to MRI Brief Therapy. Developed 10 new workshops on topics such as cross-cultural perspectives on psychotherapy, clinical approaches to violence, and social constructionist work with school children and teachers.

  • Residency Director
    Mental Research Institute (MRI): 1997-1998
    Improved the quality of the MRI Residency program, which provides training experiences for residents ranging from one week to two months. Enlisted more teachers, carefully monitored residents’ satisfaction with training, and introduced more varied curricula, including training in Narrative Therapy. I offered presentations to residents about social constructionist ideas and the narrative metaphor, which continued into 2001.

  • Editor
    MRI Clinical Bulletin: 1997-1999
    Developed on-line bulletin highlighting the clinical and research pursuits of staff at MRI.

• PRESENTATIONS

  • “The Secret Lives of Happy Couples.” Class presentation at Argosy University, Point Richmond, CA, February 2002.

  • “Externalizing vs. Internalizing conversations: Road Maps for Narrative Therapy.” Presentation with Pablo Castro at the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, July 2001.

  • “An Introduction to Post-modern Ideas and the Narrative Metaphor.” Presentation with Isobel Scher inaugurating a six-month training series at the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, January, 2001.

  • “Cultural Discourse and Narrative Therapy.” Presentation with Pamela Montgomery and Pablo Castro at the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, July 2000.

  • “An Introduction to Narrative Therapy.” Presentation at the University of San Francisco, Cupertino campus, December, 1998.

  • “Narrative, Culture and Problems: Ways to Construct Problems Clinically Taking into Account Larger Socio-political Contexts.” Presentation at the American Family Therapy Academy Pre-Conference in San Francisco, June, 1996.

• RESEARCH

  • Lead Investigator
    Happy Couples Project: 1999-present
    Initiated study of "happy couples" consisting of interviewing couples about the history of their relationship, and the meanings, practices and attributions that support happy relationships. The study also deconstructs ideas about love and marriage that interfere with the creation of a happy relationship.

  • Research Associate
    Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA: 1998-2001

  • Ph.D. Recipient
    California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda, CA: 1995
    Completed dissertation on 76 couples that examined congruence between sex role attitudes and the actual division of labor at home, and how it relates to marital adjustment.

• PUBLICATIONS

  • Sparks, J. (1997). Voices of experience: Inviting former clients to rejoin the therapy process as consultants. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 16(4), 367-375.

  • Sparks, J. (1995). Role incongruence and marital adjustment late in the transition to parenthood. Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(11B), 6422.