• 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
    1997-Present
    I work with families, couples and individuals.  I have a particular interest in Narrative Therapy, which emphasizes working collaboratively with clients to address problems, and the power of stories in shaping our identities.  Currently practicing in Portland, ME

  • Adjunct Clinical Faculty
    California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco, CA: Sept. 2003-2009
    In 2003 I began teaching a course on Family Systems approaches to therapy.  I added to this in 2004 with a course called "Learning to do Supervision," emphasizing conducting supervision from a post-modern perspective.  In 2007 I began teaching a course on the theory and practice of Narrative Therapy

  • Clinical Supervisor                                                                                                                 California School of Professional Psychology's Psychological Services Center in Oakland, CA.: 2001-2006                                                                                                                                      I provided supervision to graduate students in the child and family program.  Toward the end of that period, I also began training in the use of reflecting teams with clients.

  • Adjunct Clinical Faculty                                                                                                       Argosy University, Point Richmond, CA: June 2003-August 2006                                                    I taught courses on supervision and consultation, and also taught in Argosy’s Intensive Clinic where I supervised “live” clinical cases and provided training in the use of reflecting teams.  Additionally, in late 2005 I taught a course on Family Systems approaches to therapy.                                                                                                                                               

  • Founding Faculty Member                                                                                                Association of Family Therapists of Northern California (AFTNC) Postgraduate Training Program in Couples, Family and Community Practice, Berkeley, CA: September 2003 to 2005                         I helped create the curriculum and co-taught in an intensive eight-month training program focusing on a culturally informed, post-modern approach to family therapy.  The course was designed to extend trainees’ knowledge and clinical skills beyond systems theory, advancing a stance toward families and communities that intimately connected culture, discourse theory and an understanding of power relations.                                                                                                                                            

  • Clinical Supervisor                                                                                                                Family Institute of Pinole, Pinole, CA: Oct. 2004-July 2007                                                              I supervised live sessions with families and individuals using a reflecting team format from Oct. 2004-June 2005, and also offered didactic and experiential training in the theory and practice of Narrative Therapy.  In late 2006 I began offering individual supervision to students at the institute.                                                                      

  • Founding Member
    Mental Research Institute (MRI) OllinQi Center for the Exploration of Alternatives, Changes and Solutions, Palo Alto, CA: 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 current and to provide 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), Palo Alto: 1997-1998
    Improved the quality of the MRI Residency program, which provided 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

  • "A Fugue in Four Voices: Revisiting the Reflecting Team." Presentation with Jane Ariel, Ph.D., Ellen Pulleyblank Coffey, Ph.D. and Sam Tabachnik, Ph.D. at the June 2009 American Family Therapy Academy conference in New Orleans.

  • “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.

PUBLICATIONS

             ○ Sparks, J., Ariel, J., Pulleyblank Coffey, E., & Tabachnik, S. (2010).  A fugue in four voices: Sounding themes and variations on the reflecting team.  Family Process, In Press. 

                 ○ 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.