HIP HOP FOR MENTAL HEALTH is a national campaign dedicated to helping young people learn to “beat the blues” by harnessing the power of positive mental health rhymes. The founder and director is Dr. Patrice Wolters, a Licensed Psychologist, who writes mental health lyrics that spring from the vault of her over twenty years of experience. Dr. Wolters struggled with several mood challenges earlier in her life that enable her to provide cutting edge and catchy verses that can help people move forward while listening to music.
The three goals of this national initiative are designed to empower young people (and people of all ages) and provide tools to enhance service delivery to various helping professionals:
Goals:
- Identify the red flags for mood disorders;
- Defeat the stigma related to mental health conditions;
- Help young people manage moods with positive coping tools.
The aim of hip hop for mental health is cultivating the consciousness of empowerment through healing the feelings of shame, insecurity, and low self-esteem that young people with mood challenges often feel. This objective is based on the premise that everyone should have equal access to health, security, and self-sufficiency. The sense of empowerment evolves as: a) one increases the capacity to master the physical and psychological challenges of life; b) one develops positive coping skills that lead to success in life; and c) one cultivates self-acceptance, self-esteem and compassion for oneself and others. In addition to the songs, there are also articles aimed at reaching the goals of the initiative. A major focus is helping people changed patterns of thinking and remember inspiring, guiding new verses.
