Revisiting the PARS Model: Integrating Trauma-Informed Practice, Cultural Responsiveness, and Telehealth into Process

The original Processing: Activity, Relationships, Self (PARS) model provided a concise map for beginning group leaders to debrief experiences through the stages of reflecting, understanding, and applying. Since the model’s publication, three particular developments have impacted group counseling including (a) the field-wide adoption of trauma‑informed principles, (b) the centrality of multicultural and social justice responsiveness, and (c) the normalization of synchronous telehealth for group services. In this article, the authors synthesize the original PARS model and propose an expanded framework of PARS that integrates trauma‑informed (TI), culturally responsive (CR), and telehealth (TH) perspectives into the implementation of the model. Drawing on systematic reviews and professional guidelines, the authors outline concrete prompts, ethical procedures, and implementation steps for group leaders, discuss challenges related to processing, and identify priorities for training and research. The goal is to preserve the simplicity of PARS while better equipping group leaders with skills to facilitate safer, more equitable, and more effective groups across settings and methods of delivery in today’s settings.