Jonathan Poquiz, PhD, LP, presents: Supporting Pride, Activism, Resilience, and Community (SPARC): An intervention supporting youth at the intersection of racial and gender identities

Transgender and gender diverse youth who are also youth of color experience compounding stress related to their racial, ethnic, and gender identities. Gender minority stress and intersectionality theories posit that dominant social and institutional structures (e.g., white supremacy, cis-heteronormativity) create and sustain multiple intersecting oppressions for people outside dominant identities. Thus, this case study describes a process group, Supporting Pride, Activism, Resiliency, and Community (SPARC), developed with an intersectional lens to support this population. SPARC curriculum employed activities to support participants in identifying and coping with race- and gender-related stressors. Additionally, the curriculum emphasized the role of social media content to understand exposure and experience with racism and transphobia. Group leaders elicited feedback after the final group session through an anonymous survey to assess acceptability and satisfaction. Participants included five adolescents and young adults ranging from 15 to 22 years old. Overall, participants reported satisfaction with the structure and content of SPARC. Participants noted that they would prefer the group to be in-person and to have more weekly sessions. SPARC curriculum and implications for future directions will be shared and discussed.