Personal and environmental change: A Hip Hop school counseling intervention

Scholars criticize the profession of school counseling for the delivery of inadequate school counseling services to Black and Brown youth. Within schools, particularly those populated by Black and Brown youth, exist environmental barriers to youths’ wellness and development including a shortage of mental health professionals (i.e., high student-to-counselor ratios) or oppressive school structures (i.e., deficit-oriented curriculum and discipline policies). This case study examined the use of a culturally responsive and theoretically sound Hip Hop and school counseling intervention that captures the experiences of students and adult participants. The results from this study help illustrate how the school studio, as a liberatory space, offered a hospitable environment that invited students’ authentic identity expression, fostered increased relationships with staff and their peers, and offered students a sense of confidence or personal empowerment.