Since its inception nearly a decade ago, Group Rap Therapy (GRT) as an intervention practice continues to be viewed in the United States with wariness due to its controversial alliance with a music genre that is unpalatable to some practitioners. Yet, its burgeoning global appeal as a creative mental health treatment protocol to researchers and practitioners suggests that this group therapeutic technique is likely to continue to grow. In this article, a historical account of GRT’s beginning and its purpose are highlighted. Critical reflections and analysis about the impact that GRT can have on prospective clients and practitioners are examined. Finally, considerations about refining and advancing the course of GRT are underscored to preserve the veracity of this innovative intervention practice for youth.
American Music Therapy Association (2007) The AMTA Member Sourcebook. United States: American Music Therapy Association, Inc.
2.
AluedeC.O.EkewenuD.B. (2009) ‘Healing Through Music and Dance in the Bible: Scope Competence and Implications for the Nigerian Music Healers’, Ethno-medicine3(2): 159–63.
3.
AndersonT.DeCarloA.CVoisinD.BellC. (2003) ‘Trauma and Violence with Children: A U.S. Perspective’, Journal of Psychiatric times20(10): 10–17.
4.
BernardiL.PortaC.SleightP. (2006) ‘Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory changes induced by different types of music in musicians and non-musicians: The importance of silence’, Heart92(4): 445–52.
5.
ChafinS.RoyM.GerinW.ChristenfieldN. (2004) ‘Music can facilitate blood pressure recovery from stress’, British Journal of Health Psychology9(3): 393–403.
6.
CroweB.J. (2004) Music and soul making: Toward a new theory of music therapy. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.
7.
DarrowA.A. (2008) Introduction to Approaches in Music Therapy (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: American Music Therapy Association.
8.
DeCarloA.C. (2000-1) ‘Rap Therapy? An Innovative Approach to Groupwork with Urban Adolescents’, Journal of Intergroup Relations27: 41–9.
9.
DeCarloA.C.HockmanE. (2003) ‘Rap Therapy: A groupwork intervention technique for urban adolescents’, Social Work with Groups26(3): 45–59.
10.
DeCarloA. (2012). A Developmental Explanatory Model of Maladaptive Aggressive Dispositions in Urban African American Adolescents. SAGE Social Sciences Journal Open, 2(3).
11.
ElliganD. (2000) ‘Rap therapy: A culturally sensitive approach to psychotherapy with young African American men’, Journal of African American Studies5(2): 327–36.
12.
ElliganD. (2004) Rap Therapy: A practical guide for communication with youth and young adults through rap music. New York: Kensington.
13.
ElliottD.J. (1990) ‘Music as culture: toward a multicultural concept of arts education’, Journal of Aesthetic Education24(1): 147–66.
14.
EvansD.J. (2010) ‘The challenge of treating conduct disorder in resourced settings: rap music to the rescue’, Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. 22(2): 145–52.
15.
FernandoS.H. (1994) The New Beats—Exploring Music, Culture, and Attitude of Hip–Hop. New York: Anchor Books.
16.
GardstormS.C. (1999) ‘Music exposure and criminal behavior: Perceptions of juvenile offenders’, Journal of Music Therapy36: 207–21.
17.
HadleyS.YancyG. (eds) (2011) Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip Hop. New York, NY: Routledge.
18.
HeideggerM. (1962). Being and Time. Blackwell, Oxford, UK, and Cambridge, USA.
19.
JacksonC. (2009) Before I Self Destruct. Distributed by Interscope Records, USA.
20.
KeenA.W. (2004) ‘Using Music as a Therapy Tool to help Troubled Adolescents’, in MettenA.KrogerT.RanhalonP.PohjolaA. (eds) Social Work Visions from around the Globe: Citizens, Methods and Approaches, pp. 361–73. The Haworth Social Work Practice Press.
21.
KemperK.J.DanhauerS.C. (2005) ‘Music as Therapy’, Southern Medical Journal98(3): 282–8.
22.
MeichenbaumD.H. (1995) Cognitive-behavioral therapy in historical perspective, in Comprehensive Textbook of Psychotherapy: Theory and practice, BongarB.M.BeutlerL. (eds). New York, Oxford University Press.
23.
MenonV.LevitinD.J. (2005) ‘The rewards of music listening: response and physiological connectivity of the mesolimbic system’, Neuroimage28: 175–84.
24.
MitterschiffthalerM.T.FuC.H.Y.DaltonJ.AndrewC.M.WilliamsS.A. (2007) ‘Functional MRI study of happy and sad affective states induced by classical music’, Human Brain Mappin28: 1150–62.
ScheelK.R.WestefeldJ.S. (1999) ‘Heavy metal music and adolescent suicidality: an empirical investigation’, Adolescence34(134): 253–73.
27.
SchneckD.J.BergerD.S. (2006) The music effect: Music physiology and clinical applications. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
28.
SickmundM.SnyderH.Poe-YamagataE. (1996) Juvenile offenders and victims: update on violence. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, Office of juvenile justice and Delinquency Prevention.
29.
SlobodaJ.JuslinP.N. (2001) Psychological perspectives on music and emotion. in Music and Emotion: Theory and Research (ed. SlobodaJ.), pp. 71–104. Oxford University.
30.
TysonE.H. (2002) ‘Hip Hop therapy: An exploratory study of rap music intervention with at-risk and delinquent youth’, Journal of Poetry Therapy15(4): 131–44.
31.
TysonE.H. (2003) ‘Rap music in social work practice with African American and Latino youth: A conceptual model with practical applications’, Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment8(4): 1–21.
32.
UhligS. (2011) ‘Rap and singing for emotional and cognitive development of at-risk-children’, inBakerUhlig (eds) Voicework in Music Therapy. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
33.
WuS.WuZ. (2009) ‘How to Use Hip-Hop Therapy on High-Risk Youth’, China Social Work22: 55–7. Reprinted by the Social Work Issue, Reduplication of Published Materials of Renmin University of China.
