Ian P. Levy, Ed.D                                                               

Thur., Dec 6th    Time: 5:15 -- 6:45pm

“Remixing Career Counseling: Hip Hop and Spoken Word Therapy”

Innovative, culturally responsive counseling approaches must not only honor diversity, but build upon the inherent strengths and individual differences of diverse populations. In the context of career counseling obstacles facing urban youth, acknowledging their hip hop culture is paramount! 

Historically used within urban communities as a platform to speak back against systemic issues and as a way to share untold stories, this presentation will review hip hop culture as a means to inform in the development of interventions and more broadly in the counseling process. An overview of Hip Hop and Spoken Word Therapy as a platform to engage urban youth in counseling services will be shared by Dr. Levy,    including an overview of its salient aspects as used as a counseling framework, and its overall practical application. 

Participants will:

·         Gather an in depth understanding of the career counseling obstacles facing urban youth

·         Be able to articulate the salient aspects of Hip Hop and Spoken Word Therapy

·         Understand the value of using Hip Hop culture in career counseling

Bio:

Dr. Ian Levy is a professor of School Counseling at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he trains school counselors in culturally sensitive counseling and pedagogical practices in schools, and supervises school counseling interns at 15 schools across Massachusetts. A former school counselor, Ian’s research interests entails interrogating the role of the school counselor and other school staff to ensure the emotional lives of young people are adequately addressed. He piloted the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Hip Hop based counseling framework in urban schools - featured in the New York Times and on CNN.  Ian has been recognized as an emerging leader by the Association of Humanistic Counseling and was named the New York State School Counselor of the Year (2016).  He is a recipient of the Joseph P. Healey Research providing funding to construct a studio at a local Boys & Girls Club in Boston where he will lead a team of pre-service school counselors in the implementation of a series of hip hop therapy groups.