A Qualitative Exploration of Music Therapist Beliefs, Education, and Uses of Hip Hop in Clinical Practice

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore music therapists’ beliefs, education, and uses of Hip Hop in clinical work through interviews with board-certified music therapists who incorporate elements of Hip Hop into their work. Specifically, the researcher sought to ascertain how music therapists use elements of Hip Hop culture in clinical practice, the training and education these music therapists received about Hip Hop culture, and the suggestions they have for professional and preprofessional music therapists who wish to incorporate elements of Hip Hop into their clinical work. Participants were board-certified music therapists who incorporate elements of Hip Hop into their work. These participants have either written scholarly, given presentations or contributed to the music therapy body of knowledge in this area through trainings such as continuing music therapy education courses or in-services. Participants completed semi-structured interviews that were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Four themes with eleven subthemes emerged. The themes included (a) motivations for incorporating Hip Hop (subthemes: responding to service users’ musical preference, and cultural responsiveness), (b) therapeutic goals in music therapy (subthemes: emotional processing, self-expression, and group support), (c) how participants learned about Hip Hop (subthemes: self-study, wisdom from service users, personal, and/or cultural connections), (d) recommendations from participants (subthemes: seek supervision, commit to reflexivity, and seek deeper knowledge). Implications gleaned from this study include the need for better university education in this area that centers cultural responsiveness and authenticity and issues of access in music therapy for service users, clinicians, and academics in the field.