Everything Under The Sun: Finding The Words Of Connection In Therapy

One of the books by Jeff Walker about hip-hop therapy.

Every so often, in psychotherapy, there are times when a therapist and a client have difficulty connecting. It could be a clash of personalities, a lack of understanding, even the manner of expression, but the not connecting affects the course of therapeutic work. Race can sometimes enter the equation, when those from the African-American community speak differently from white people, understanding can get lost in the broken connection.

A young counselor and therapist, Jeff Walker, who was working with "at-risk" youth noticed the difficulty that therapists and their young clients were having in finding a common language in which to discuss deeply personal issues. That inability to connect could lead young teens and adults to become trapped within the system which they had unwillingly entered. Mr. Walker, at that point, realized that his connection with hip-hop culture enabled him to make that all-important connection, so he set about making sure that other therapists could utilize his experiences.

Mr. Walker gathered together the same tools that he had used to learn about and utilize hip hop and rap culture to help youth, and formed RHYMECOLOGY as therapy. With this system, urban youth express, create, and discover themselves as a means of healing and of relating to psychotherapists. Mr. Walker explained, "The Rhymecology ethos uses hip-hop lyrics and culture and brings them into the mental health field, providing counselors with an alternate tool to connect with and eventually heal their clients."

At this point, Mr. Walker has published two books about this type of therapeutic process, Rhymecology: Using Hip-Hop To Heal: The Therapist Guide and Rhymecology: The Art Of Hip-Hop Lyrics. There is also the only therapeutic game involving the use of hip-hop, Rhymecology Self-Expression, which promotes self-reflection, critical thinking, and introspection through the use of situation cards. This game has been endorsed by teachers, parents, counselors, and therapists.

Rhymecology as performance art.

Let's end with a poem by Jeff Walker:

"times change
I know its hard to follow your passion
the DREAM path seems to go over mountains and canyons
while walking barefoot, pulling a wagon
of baggage and scars all while slaying these dragons
its called mid life strife
we dream of big bright lights
reality is we live in a place that fits quite tight
kids might fight so our dreams lay dormant
personal passion out the window, just want our teams to stay scoring
seems like the scenes way boring...
Life maybe less crazy and festive
but its all in our perspective
family helps you live in more balanced ways
things sure have changed haven't they
now we gotta lay back and just be
times are changing...but are we?"

A thoughtful young man with a talent for connecting with youth who are in the system; a hopeful way for those same youth to find a future that is both challenging and utilizes their talents. An understanding connection helps it to happen.