We have two NEW projects starting up! Click here to learn more and get involved.
The I-SPARX project has concluded! We are now in the process of sharing feedback from youth testers and working on ways to make I-SPARX available free to anyone who wants to play.
This page is also available in Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun
PUBLICATIONS
Thomas, A., Bohr Y., Hankey, J., Oskalns, M., Barnhardt & Singoorie, C. (2022). How did Nunavummiut youth cope during the COVID-19 pandemic? A qualitative exploration of the resilience of Inuit youth leaders involved in the I-SPARX project. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 81(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2022.2043577
Kuosmanen, T., Fleming, T. M., & Barry, M. M. (2018). The implementation of SPARX-R computerized mental health program in alternative education: Exploring the factors contributing to engagement and dropout. Children and Youth Services Review, 84, 176-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.11.032
Perry, Y., Werner-Seidler, A., Calear, A., Mackinnon, A., King, C., Scott, J., ... & Batterham, P. J. (2017). Preventing depression in final year secondary students: school-based randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(11). https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.8241
Bohr, Y., Litwin, L., Flett, G., Rawana, J., G., Healy, G. & Dion, S. (2016). Making SPARX fly in Nunavut: Pilot testing an innovative computer-based intervention for reducing youth depression as a preamble to the development of a culturally specific, community led prevention program. Research report prepared for the Department of Health, Government of Nunavut.
Khourochvili, M., Bohr, Y., Litwin, L., Lucassen, M. & Merry, S. (2016, October). Pilot Testing a Computerized CBT Program in a Remote Arctic Region: Nunavut Youth and Youth Workers Reflect on SPARX. Poster to be presented at the 50th annual convention of the American Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), New York, NY.
Bohr, Y., Litwin, L., Lee, Y. & Hamel, K. (2016, June). SPARX -Nunavut: An innovative computer based intervention for boosting resilience against youth depression in Nunavut - Process and Outcome. Presentation at the 77th Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association, Victoria, BC.
Poppelaars, M., Tak, Y. R., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., Engels, R. C., Lobel, A., Merry, S. N., ... & Granic, I. (2016). A randomized controlled trial comparing two cognitive-behavioral programs for adolescent girls with subclinical depression: a school-based program (Op Volle Kracht) and a computerized program (SPARX). Behaviour research and therapy, 80, 33-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.03.005
Shoemaker, E. Z., Tully, L. M., Niendam, T. A., & Peterson, B. S. (2015). The next big thing in child and adolescent psychiatry: interventions to prevent and intervene early in psychiatric illnesses. Psychiatric Clinics, 38(3), 475-494. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12052
Lucassen, M. F., Merry, S. N., Hatcher, S., & Frampton, C. M. (2015). Rainbow SPARX: A novel approach to addressing depression in sexual minority youth. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 22(2), 203-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2013.12.008
Lucassen, M. F., Hatcher, S., Fleming, T. M., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M. J., & Merry, S. N. (2015). A qualitative study of sexual minority young people’s experiences of computerised therapy for depression. Australasian Psychiatry, 23(3), 268-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856215579542
Lucassen, M. F., Hatcher, S., Stasiak, K., Fleming, T., Shepherd, M., & Merry, S. N. (2013). The views of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth regarding computerised self-help for depression: An exploratory study. Advances in Mental Health, 12(1), 22-33. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.2013.12.1.22
Bobier, C., Stasiak, K., Mountford, H., Merry, S., & Moor, S. (2013). When ‘e’therapy enters the hospital: Examination of the feasibility and acceptability of SPARX (a cCBT programme) in an adolescent inpatient unit. Advances in Mental Health, 11(3), 286-292. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.2013.11.3.286
Merry, S. N., Stasiak, K., Shepherd, M., Frampton, C., Fleming, T., & Lucassen, M. F. (2012). The effectiveness of SPARX, a computerised self help intervention for adolescents seeking help for depression: randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. British Medical Journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e2598
Fleming, T., Dixon, R., Frampton, C., & Merry, S. (2012). A pragmatic randomized controlled trial of computerized CBT (SPARX) for symptoms of depression among adolescents excluded from mainstream education. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 40(5), 529-541. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465811000695
PRESS
CBC As it Happens: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-2/clip/15812171
Initiative de journalisme locale: https://www.ijl.apf.ca/article/i-sparx-le-jeu-video-qui-stimule-le-bien-etre-mental-des-jeunes-nunavois/
CBC: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/spark-437-1.5116618/from-maori-to-inuktitut-how-a-therapy-game-is-helping-indigenous-youth-1.5116624
The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-mental-health-boosting-video-game-sparx-aims-to-help-indigenous-youth/
Nunatsiaq News: https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674role-playing_computer_game_could_combat_mental_illness_in_nunavut/