In-Person

Hip Hop Therapy: A Culturally Resonant Approach to Trauma Treatment

Presented by J.C. Hall, LCSW, EXAT
1.5 CE Hours Clinical
Hip Hop Therapy: A Culturally Resonant Approach to Trauma Treatment

Information

Date & Time

  • -

Location

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Describe the origins of Hip Hop culture and how its inherently cathartic elements relate to at least two forms of psychotherapy.

  • Evaluate the theoretical and practical underpinnings of Hip Hop therapy as a receptive and expressive approach to treatment.

  • Summarize the impact of a studio-based approach to Hip Hop therapy in a transfer high school setting over the course of a decade.

  • Analyze a trauma-informed approach to HHT based on the neurophysiological implications of its parallels with expressive arts therapy and EMDR.

Educational Goal

The educational goal of this workshop is to introduce Hip Hop therapy as a culturally relevant, trauma-informed approach to mental health treatment.

Description

Despite drastically different cultural underpinnings, Hip Hop and therapy are both widely used expressive practices that serve as a form of catharsis and connection. For over half a century, Hip Hop culture has served therapeutic purposes and reached people where, historically, talk therapy has not. With roots in progressive social movements and political protest, its messages transcend geography, race, ethnicity, and class. First developed in the mid-90s by Hall’s late mentor Dr. Edgar Tyson, Hip Hop therapy (HHT) embraces Hip Hop’s capacity to facilitate personal and communal transformation, mixing the inherently cathartic components of the culture with various well established treatment modalities. In this presentation, you’ll learn about:

 

– The basics of HHT and how it overlaps with several well-established treatment modalities, including CBT, DBT, narrative therapy, and expressive arts therapy.

 

– The impact of a HHT Studio program at a second chance high school in the South Bronx over the past decade.

 

– A trauma-informed approach to HHT, including top-down and bottom-up strategies.

 

– How rhythm and rhyme facilitate self-regulation, co-regulation, bilateral stimulation, and traumatic processing.

Target Audience

  • Counselor
  • Marriage & Family Therapist
  • Psychologist
  • Social Worker
  • Substance Use Disorder Professionals

Presenters

J.C. Hall, LCSW, EXAT

J.C.  Hall, LCSW, EXAT  is a Hip Hop artist and social worker who runs the Hip Hop Therapy Studio program at Mott Haven Community High School, a second-chance school in the South Bronx. In 2013, Hall assembled a professional recording studio in an old storage room to provide youth the opportunity to engage in the therapeutic process through writing, recording, producing, and performing. The origins of the program are chronicled in the award-winning short documentary Mott Haven, which showcases the efficacy of Hip Hop therapy in addressing trauma and grief in the wake of a school tragedy. After the passing of his friend and mentor Dr. Edgar Tyson, the originator of Hip Hop therapy, Hall created hiphoptherapy.com to serve as a centralized resource for those interested in learning about its theory and application. Due to the impact of his work over the years, Hall won a national Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the New York Community in 2020, as well as the 2024 Psychotherapy Networker Vanguard Award.

Financially Sponsored By

  • Family First Adolescent Services