In perceiving all rap and hip-hop music as violent, misogynistic, and sexually charged, are we denying the way in which it is attentive to the lived experiences, both positive and negative, of many therapy clients? This question is explored in great depth in this anthology, the first to examine the use of this musical genre in the therapeutic context. The contributors are all experienced therapists who examine the multiple ways that rap and hip-hop can be used in therapy by listening and discussing, performing, creating, or improvising. The text is divided into three sections that explore the historical and theoretical perspectives of rap and hip-hop in therapy, describe the first-hand experiences of using the music with at-risk youth, and discuss the ways in which contributors have used rap and hip-hop with clients with specific diagnoses, respectively. Within these sections, the contributors provide rationale for the use of rap and hip-hop in therapy and encourage therapists to validate the experiences for those for whom rap music is a significant mode of expression. Editors Susan Hadley and George Yancy go beyond promoting culturally competent therapy to creating a paradigm shift in the field, one that speaks to the problematic ways in which rap and hip-hop have been dismissed as expressive of meaningless violence and of little social value. More than providing tools to incorporate rap into therapy, this text enhances the therapist's cultural and professional repertoire.

Using the latest research, real-world examples, and a new theory of healthy development, this book explains Hip Hop culture's ongoing role in helping Black youths to live long, healthy, and productive lives. In The Healing Power of Hip Hop, Raphael Travis Jr. offers a passionate look into existing tensions aligned with Hip Hop and demonstrates the beneficial quality it can have empowering its audience. His unique perspective takes Hip Hop out of the negative light and shows readers how Hip Hop has benefited the Black community. Organized to first examine the social and historical framing of Hip Hop culture and Black experiences in the United States, the remainder of the book is dedicated to elaborating on consistent themes of excellence and well-being in Hip Hop, and examining evidence of new ambassadors of Hip Hop culture across professional disciplines. The author uses research-informed language and structures to help the reader fully understand how Hip Hop creates more pathways to health and learning for youth and communities.

See You at the Crossroads: Hip Hop Scholarship at the Intersections Dialectical Harmony, Ethics, Aesthetics, and Panoply of Voices offers several essential contributions to the field of Hip Hop studies. It presents several snapshots of innovative work within (and at the intersections between) several intellectual fields of study. The collection of essays reveal the dialectical harmony and solidarity with which Hip Hop scholars, activists, and artists collectively mobilize, stand together, and collaboratively sustain in hopes of realizing social justice and actualizing global liberation. Several leading scholars in Hip Hop studies also provide insight to the aesthetic, the affordances, the ethics, and panoply of voices in Hip Hop culture. Finally, through empirical research, direct artistic engagement and critical pedagogical praxis, the contributors demonstrate how Hip Hop Based Education (HHBE) catalyzes civic engagement and democratic participation in schools through the use of democratic aesthetic tools to galvanize social change.

There is a rapidly emerging and developing area of music therapy practice that uses electronic music technologies in a range of therapeutic and clinical settings to help clients with complex needs. This edited volume explains cutting edge technologies and how to apply these tools in practice. With contributions from leading experts in the field, the book takes the reader through the equipment that is available including computer-based software; electronic devices which produce musical sounds with minimal movement or skill; assistive devices such as switches and sensors; and recording and listening equipment. Clinical case studies are then offered that show these technologies being used successfully with a broad range of child and adult populations, including those with visual impairments, autism spectrum disorders, medical needs, physical challenges, and mental health issues, and within a variety of settings, including a neonatal intensive care unit, schools, hospital environments, and palliative care settings. The final section looks toward the future and examines philosophical and theoretical perspectives on the use of technology and its relationship to aesthetics, gender and identity. This book will be a key resource for all music therapists, special needs educators, and professionals from the field of assistive technology, as well as allied health professionals such as occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.

Therapeutic Songwriting provides a comprehensive examination of contemporary methods and models of songwriting as used for therapeutic purposes. It describes the environmental, sociocultural, individual, and group factors shaping practice, and how songwriting is understood and practiced within different psychological and wellbeing orientations.

Communication Research on Expressive Arts and Narrative as Forms of Healing: More than Words examines a number of widely used expressive arts therapies from a communication perspective, providing case studies and other qualitative investigations focused specifically on communication aspects of expressive therapies including drama, music, and dance/movement therapies. This collection, edited by Kamran Afary and Alice Marianne Fritz and authored by contributors with experience as educators, artists, and licensed therapists, integrates communication, therapy, and pedagogy to explore the role and efficacy of expressive arts therapies. Scholars of communication, performing arts, and mental health will find this book particularly useful, along with mental health practitioners and scholars conducting fieldwork.

Young people have long used popular culture to explore, define and express who they are. For many, popular culture is also a tool of survival. Gone are the days when proscriptive programs were needed for young people to transition to adulthood. Today, youth culture is communicated through information technology, particularly social media, enabling young people to engage the world. Yet, as always, youth culture is often a cause of concern for adults and policy makers. This collection of new essays focuses on modern youth popular culture. There are such topics as social justice and youth mobilization in Ferguson, Missouri, social media and sexual literacy among LGBT youth, and youth culture's influence on children's sports.

In The Therapist's Notebook for Children and Adolescents, 2nd ed, you'll find the most powerful tools available for aiding children with their feelings, incorporating play techniques into therapy, encouraging appropriate parental involvement in family sessions, and providing group therapy to children. This ready reference is divided into ten thoughtfully planned sections to make it easy to find the right activity, handout, or intervention for the problem at hand, whether you’re looking for creative ideas, running a children’s group, putting interventions into practice in the classroom, or looking for ways to increase parental and familial involvement. Instructions for the activities are clearly explained and highlighted with case examples and many illustrations. Chapters are by leading experts, including Eliana Gil, Risë VanFleet, Liana Lowenstein, Howard Rosenthal, and Volker Thomas, and explore strategies for treating children both individually and in a family context. With more than 60% new material, this expanded version delves into the latest research and thinking on family play therapy and addresses many pertinent issues of our time, including bullying, suicidal ideation, ADHD, autism, adolescents and sex, and cultural issues. It’s a must-have arsenal for both novice and experienced professionals in family therapy, play therapy, psychology, psychiatry, counseling, education, nursing, and related fields.

In times of uncertainty and crisis, the mental health of individuals become a concern as added stressors and pressures can cause depression, anxiety, and stress. Today, especially with more people than ever experiencing these effects due to the Covid-19 epidemic and all that comes along with it, discourse around mental health has gained heightened urgency. While there have always been stigmas surrounding mental health, the continued display of these biases can add to an already distressing situation for struggling individuals. Despite the experience of mental health issues becoming normalized, it remains important for these issues to be addressed along with adequate education about mental health so that it becomes normalized and discussed in ways that are beneficial for society and those affected. Along with raising awareness of mental health in general, there should be a continued focus on treatment options, methods, and modes for healthcare delivery. The Research Anthology on Mental Health Stigma, Education, and Treatment explores the latest research on the newest advancements in mental health, best practices and new research on treatment, and the need for education and awareness to mitigate the stigma that surrounds discussions on mental health. The chapters will cover new technologies that are impacting delivery modes for treatment, the latest methods and models for treatment options, how education on mental health is delivered and developed, and how mental health is viewed and discussed. It is a comprehensive view of mental health from both a societal and medical standpoint and examines mental health issues in children and adults from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds and in a variety of professions, including healthcare, emergency services, and the military. This book is ideal for psychologists, therapists, psychiatrists, counsellors, religious leaders, mental health support agencies and organizations, medical professionals, teachers, researchers, students, academicians, mental health practitioners, and more.

Hip-hop as survivor testimony? Rhymes as critical text? Drawing on her own experiences as a lifelong hip-hop head and philosophy professor, Lissa Skitolsky reveals the existential power of hip-hop to affect our sensibility and understanding of race and anti-black racism. Hip-Hop as Philosophical Text and Testimony: Can I Get a Witness? examines how the exclusion of hip-hop from academic discourse around knowledge, racism, white supremacy, genocide, white nationalism, and trauma reflects the very neoliberal sensibility that hip-hop exposes and opposes. At this critical moment in history, in the midst of a long overdue global reckoning with systemic anti-black racism, Skitolsky shows how it is more important than ever for white people to realize that our failure to see this system—and take hip-hop seriously—has been essential to its reproduction. In this book, she illustrates the unique power of underground hip-hop to interrupt our neoliberal and post-racial sensibility of current events.