Serious gaps exist with the delivery of effective programs in corrective services and youth justice in Australia; they have failed to provide adequate treatment to offenders with severe mental health difficulties. Currently, there are few innovative or relevant programs which address the criminogenic and relevant non-criminogenic needs in a population which is overrepresented by Aboriginal peoples and where engagement is essential in treatment. Research supports the therapeutic efficacy of rap music and Hip-Hop Therapy (HHT) for young offenders who are a disadvantaged cohort facing critical levels of marginalisation and disempowerment, and higher rates of mortality, trauma, and mental health problems than the general population. HHT offers a relatively novel yet culturally relevant mode of therapy for this cohort. This study introduces the Rhythm & Rhymes Adolescent/Adult Program (RRAP) as one of the first Australian HHT programs for young and adult offenders with severe mental health conditions. Sixty-two young and adult participants from a NSW high secure forensic hospital attended the 12-week program which aimed to investigate the social and emotional benefits of RRAP/HHT and to determine which components of the program were most successful at achieving any such changes. A mixed methods approach was utilised which compared (1) the quantitative pre-post results of validated measures and the Circumplex Model of Affect; and (2) the qualitative thematic analyses of therapeutic song writing and semi-structured interviews, post-program. The results indicated that RRAP/HHT is associated with significant improvements in psychiatric symptoms, adolescent coping skills, and levels of depression and anxiety. Several important themes emerged in the lyrics created by participants such as: Coping with Adversity, Loss, Hopelessness and Selfdevelopment. The exit interviews revealed themes of: Self-efficacy, Therapeutic Experience, Connection and Collaboration, and Lack of Resources, highlighting the benefits of providing a highly relevant program to engage such a complex cohort. The implications of the study are that the use of an innovative program such as HHT in the forensic population can adequately address the group's relevant cultural, cognitive, criminogenic, and non-criminogenic needs, and thus represents an evidence-based approach capable of promoting positive, prosocial change in offenders with severe mental health disorders.
Date of Award | 2020 |
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Original language | English |
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- mentally ill offenders
- rehabilitation
- music therapy
- rap (music)
- hip-hop
Hip-hop therapy : an approach to working with offenders with severe mental health conditions
Dilati, K. A. (Author). 2020
Western Sydney University thesis: Doctoral thesis