Joshua Sparrow

Dr. Joshua Sparrow, M.D., DFAACAP, is a child, adolescent, and general psychiatrist whose career centers on expanding mental health and developmental support beyond clinical settings. Sparrow serves as executive director of the Brazelton Touchpoints Center in the Division of Development of Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, holds an appointment in the Department of Psychiatry, and is associate professor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, part time. A graduate of Yale Medical School, Sparrow completed residency training and a child psychiatry fellowship at Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals and is board certified in child/adolescent and general psychiatry. Prior to his medical career, he worked as a preschool teacher and journalist in New York, experiences that inform his ability to translate developmental science into practical guidance for families and professionals.

Sparrow’s early work with children hospitalized for severe psychiatric disturbances, often linked to abuse and neglect, led to his focus on the social, economic, and racism-related determinants of health and mental health. This experience influenced his commitment to community-based prevention, health promotion, and culturally grounded approaches to child and family well-being. At the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, his work includes cultural adaptations of family support programs, organizational professional development, and aligning systems of care with community strengths. His collaborations include consultation with Harlem Children's Zone and Tribal Early Head Start/Head Start Programs. Sparrow is also co-founder, with Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, EdD, of the Indigenous Early Learning Collaborative at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center.

Sparrow is an author and scholar whose work in child development, parenting, and mental health has reached global audiences. With T. Berry Brazelton, he co-authored eight child development and parenting books, including "Touchpoints Three to Six: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development," and the weekly New York Times syndicated column "Families Today." His publications include the textbook "Nurturing Children and Families: Building on the Legacy of T. Berry Brazelton," co-edited with Barry Lester, PhD. Sparrow has delivered lectures nationally and internationally, written numerous scholarly papers, authored nine books translated into more than 20 languages, and contributed hundreds of articles for the general public.

Sparrow’s expertise is recognized across academic, governmental, and philanthropic sectors. He has led research, training, and technical assistance grants, and advised government agencies, nonprofits, academic centers, and philanthropies. Sparrow is associate faculty at Ariadne Labs, T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health/Brigham and Women's Hospital, and has served as visiting professor at Shanghai Mental Health Center/Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the School of Medicine of the University of Marseille, France. His contributions have been recognized with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Jeanne Spurlock, MD Award for Culture and Diversity. Sparrow is a keynote speaker on topics including adolescent development, racial equity and healing, family and community engagement, childhood obesity, children with special needs, and community approaches to the opioid epidemic, serving audiences in education, healthcare, and public policy.