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Description:
This intervention
is strength-based and is appropriate for traumatized adolescents with or
without current/lifetime PTSD. SPARCS aims to help
chronically traumatized adolescents find that “sparc” of light within
themselves and enhance their strengths and resilience. As a strength-based approach, SPARCS was
designed to help adolescents find the wisdom in their responses, support skills
they already possess, and foster new ways of coping.
SPARCS is a present-focused intervention, and is not an
exposure based model. Although there is
no direct exposure component or construction of a trauma narrative, traumas are
discussed in the context of how they relate to adolescents’ current behavior and
to their understanding of their problems and difficulties in the here and
now.
Groups are one hour in length and have
been provided in a variety of settings including outpatient clinics, schools,
group homes, boarding schools, residential treatment centers and facilities,
juvenile justice centers, and foster care programs.
To date SPARCS has been
conducted with ethnically diverse groups, including African American, Latino,
Native American, LGBTQ, and refugee/immigrant populations, as well as
adolescents in gangs and in rural settings. SPARCS has also been implemented with adolescents in foster care and in
shelters with runaway/homeless youth. Some SPARCS handouts are available in Spanish and have been used with
Spanish speaking youth and their caregivers.
Status of Research:
Pilot
data indicate significant improvement in overall functioning over the course of
treatment (as measured by the Youth Outcome Questionnaire SR-2.0) for
adolescents receiving SPARCS, with significant changes noted more specifically
on subscales measuring conduct problems, inattention/hyperactivity, and
interpersonal relationships. There was
also a significant decline in PTSD symptoms, with improvements noted in the
overall severity of posttraumatic stress symptoms, as well as in scores
assessing symptoms related to re-experiencing, avoidance, hyper-arousal
(Criterion B, C, and D respectively).
Encouraging results were also found in an Evidence Based Practices Pilot
Program conducted by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in
conjunction with The Mental Health Services and Policy Program at
Northwestern
University, with improvements noted on
several of the subscales of the YOQ, including somatic complaints and
anxious/depressive symptomatology. The
pilot also compared SPARCS to treatment as usual using the Child and Adolescent
Needs and Strengths (CANS) instrument.
Results indicated that SPARCS was
associated with significant improvements in Risk Behaviors as compared
to the treatment as usual group. Furthermore, adolescents receiving SPARCS were half as likely to run
away, and one-fourth less likely to experience placement interruptions (e.g. arrests, hospitalizations) than a comparison
group.
