Helping Bay Area people get better since 1983.
Mark J. Sontag, MD
Dr. Mark J. Sontag has been practicing Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation on the Peninsula since 1983. At age 17 he received an American Cancer Society Award to investigate a novel idea in Cancer Research. He was accepted into Northwestern’s Honors six-year medical program also at age 17, completing Medical School in 1983. Following an internship in Internal Medicine at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Dr. Sontag completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Stanford University Medical Center. He is board certified in both Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Dr. Sontag is a Qualified Medical Examiner. In 1991 Dr. Sontag founded and served as medical director of the Sequoia Hospital Rehabilitation Unit and the Sequoia Hospital Occupational Health Services. He also founded the ReMedy Medical Group in 2008.
Dr. Sontag was the team physiatrist for the San Francisco 49ers from 1990 to 1991 and the San Francisco Giants from 1995 through 2001. served as the team spine and pain physician for the San Jose Sharks from 1991 through 2015 and pain consultant to the Oakland Raiders and San Jose Sabercats from 1995 to 2011. He has also provided sports medicine coverage for the Menlo College athletic teams from 1991 to 2000. Dr. Sontag cares for many of the World's elite athletes including Olympians, NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA and National Baseball Players. In 1999 Dr. Sontag again showed his dedication to Peninsula patients in founding SPARCmed, a functional restoration pain management clinic, created to help chronic pain patients improve their quality of life.
With multiple publications to his credit in sports, spine and pain management, Dr. Sontag focuses his extensive expertise in spine, sports, cumulative trauma, repetitive strain injuries, orthopedic, neurologic disorders and pain management.
Kimeron Hardin, PhD
Kimeron Hardin, PhD ABPP is a licensed clinical psychologist and is board certified in clinical health psychology. He has been instrumental in the development and management of multiple prominent pain programs over the last twenty years. He is originally from North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate degree and the University of Southern Mississippi for his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
After completing his internship training at Duke University Medical Center in 1990, Dr. Hardin served as the Director of Behavioral Medicine at the UCSF Mount Zion Pain Management Center, and has previously worked at many of the premier functional restoration programs in the Bay Area since 1995.
In 1996, Dr. Hardin co-authored one of the first self-help guides for people living with pain, namely, The Chronic Pain Control Workbook (2nd Edition). In 2010, he became board certified in clinical health psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and he recently co-founded the Northern California Association of Pain Psychologists, the first organization of it’s kind in the US. At SPARCmed, Dr. Hardin is the clinical director and provides behavioral management service to our clients, including cognitive behavioral and pain coping skills. He also works on program and staff development to keep SPARC on the cutting edge of evidence-based medical practices.
In addition to his numerous books and articles, he also recorded and released two popular stress management cds, the first of which is entitled Drifting Downstream: Guided Relaxation for Stress Reduction and most recently, Drifting Into Sleep: A Step by Step Guide to Falling Sleep. Both audio cds are available through Amazon.com and as digital downloads through iTunes.
Christine Hirabayashi, Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC
Christine Hirabayashi, Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Art Therapist and Doctorate of Philosophy in Art Therapy.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from California State University Long Beach, and subsequently her Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with specialization in Art Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University in 2004. Christine received her Ph.D. in Art Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University in 2018. Her doctoral research focused on investigating how art therapy increases acceptance in adults that have been diagnosed with chronic pain.
Christine’s early clinical experience includes working in hospice care with terminally ill patients and bereaved family members. She conducted group and individual therapy for children and adults using talk and art therapy as a compassionate way to process difficult feelings around grief and loss.
Since 2004, Christine has specialized in chronic pain management. At SPARC, she facilitates art therapy support groups and conducts individual treatment focusing on pain psychology and trauma rehabilitation.
In private practice, she offers psychotherapy and art therapy to adults, teens and children struggling with depression, anxiety, medical conditions, grief/loss, and trauma.
Lauren Denenberg, PT
Lauren Denenberg, PT, completed her degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Toronto. Lauren has practiced as a licensed physical therapist for 25 years and specializes in both chronic and acute orthopedic and neurological disorders. She has expertise in core stabilization and chronic pain management for cumulative trauma, backs and necks with an emphasis on functional restoration and retraining. Her emphasis on restoring function using work-hardening and conditioning exercises is designed to facilitate an injured workers ability to return to work and to maximize their potential for maximal levels of daily activity.
Devin Davis, CSCS, NKT, CMES
Devin Davis is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, Certified Medical Exercise Specialist and Nutritionist with sub-specialties in orthopedic exercise and Neurokinetic Therapy©. He possesses a bachelor's degree in nutritional science with an emphasis in nutrition education from San Jose State University. Devin specializes in managing pain through restoration of human movement and reduction of inflammation. He leads SPARC's English speaking physical training program through effective programming, teaching and integrating the fundamentals of fitness and nutrition. This includes combining principles of body mechanics, mobility, motor control, cardiovascular conditioning, strength training and healthy eating into SPARC’s balanced and proven curriculum. Also a Matheson trained Functional Capacity Evaluator, he evaluates return to work abilities and establishes work hardening goals through Functional Capacity Evaluations.
Devin offers unique personal coaching and instruction to improve:
Pain Management
Mobility & Motor Control
Strength and Conditioning
Body Mechanics & Exercise Technique
Sport Performance, Fitness & Nutrition
Saira Garcia, exercise specialist
Saira Garcia has been part of the REMEDY and SPARC team for over 9 years. She is a certified TRX and Zumba trainer and is passionate about health and fitness. At SPARC she works closely with the program exercise specialist and assists the patients with the exercise portion of the FRP program, with an emphasis in body mechanics. Saira has experiencing teaching cardio kickboxing at different educational institutions such as Menlo College and Notre Dame, Belmont. She has been practicing mixed martial arts and boxing at the American Kickboxing Academy for over 3 years and works closely with body builders and trainers. Saira loves kicking butt and wants to pass her enthusiasm on to the patients.
Jonathan Cebula, BS, CPT
Jonathan Cebula is a Certified Personal Trainer through numerous organizations including; NCSF, NASM, APEX, and the YMCA. Jon possesses a bachelor’s of science degree in Exercise Science / Sports Medicine with an Emphasis in Human Performance from California Lutheran University. He also holds additional certifications including; TRX Suspension Training, Monkeybar Gymnasium Certified Natural Trainer Levels 1 & 2, APEX Supplements Expert, and Sprint8 Trainer. Jon is a former collegiate athlete where he played defensive line in football at College of San Mateo and California Lutheran University. As a trainer, Jon has 20-years of training experience as a personal trainer, strength & conditioning coach, class instructor and program director.
Jon embraces a holistic approach to Health & Fitness deeply rooted in scientific philosophies. Jon has an acute ability for observing and correcting muscular imbalances and postural deviations, as well as an in-depth knowledge of proper modifications and progressions to continually advance patients.
Areas of expertise include:
· Modifications & Progressions
· Cardiovascular Conditioning
· Exercise & Fitness Programming
· Sports Performance
· Youth & Senior Training
Juanita Gomez, PhD
Dr. Gomez is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialties in chronic pain, trauma, and chronic medical conditions. She has extensive experience working with individual adult patients managing various health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and self-esteem/confidence issues. She enjoys leading chronic pain, coping skills, and various other support groups.
Dr. Gomez received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University. Her training has focused on the clinical practice of health psychology and more recently chronic pain.
Dr. Gomez completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital in spinal cord injury and orthopedic trauma. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship training at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in HIV and primary care medicine.
Dr. Marco Morelli, Psy.D
Dr. Marco is a Registered Psychological Assistant who graduated in 2020 with a PsyD in Clinical Psychology. He is currently supervised by Dr. Kimeron Hardin, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Marco has a growing expertise in Pain Psychology and Functional Rehabilitation, working primarily with Spanish-speaking patients who are involved in the Workers Compensation system. He is passionate about empowering patients to transform and thrive from hardship. Dr. Marco integrates social justice, relational, trauma-informed and culturally responsive perspectives in tailoring rehabilitation strategies unique to the individual. He is fluent in Spanish and Italian and is a first generation son of Italian and Syrian immigrants. Dr. Marco loves soccer, music, nutritious food and spending time with his family and friends.
Veronica Gutierrez
As the current program manager for SPARC, Veronica will most likely be the first person you interact with when contacting SPARC. She is a key member part of the team, handling everything from initial referral to authorizations, scheduling and coordination. She has been working with SPARC since 2005.