![Joshua Sparrow](/media/kfxfvjnd/sparrow_joshua.jpg?rxy=0.39833333333333332,0.49173553719008267&height=775&quality=70&v=1d8f8ec5afe1180))
Joshua Sparrow
Child & Family Psychiatrist
Joshua Sparrow
Child & Family Psychiatrist
Biography
Dr. Joshua Sparrow, child, adolescent, and general psychiatrist, is an associate clinical professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Director of Strategy, Planning and Program Development at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center at Children’s Hospital Boston. Dr. Sparrow’s care in the ‘90s for thousands of children hospitalized for severe psychiatric disturbances, often associated with physical and sexual abuse, and development delays aggravated by social depravation, prompted his interest in community-based prevention and health promotion.
At Brazelton Touchpoints Center, where budget and activities have tripled over the past decade, he has initiated and overseen many of its projects, including a ten-year partnership with Harlem Children’s Zone’s family support and early education programs, Tribal Touchpoints, Touchpoints Latin Initiative, New York City Public Health Department’s Childcare Inspection Project, and others.
His recent publications include several chapters on strengths-based, culturally informed family support and professional development programs, and a new textbook co-edited with Barry Lester, PhD, entitled Nurturing Children and Families: Building on the Legacy of T. Berry Brazelton, which includes contributions by internationally recognized researchers, interventionists, and advocates in early education, development psychology, nursing, pediatrics, and policy. With Brazelton, Dr. Sparrow co-authored eight child development/parenting books, including Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development, and the weekly New York Times syndicate column “Families Today.”
Dr. Sparrow holds joint appointments at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston. He received his MD at Yale University.