Music Makes a Difference
They’re known as the “Super Stars,” and at Imperial County Behavioral Health Services, they’re gaining quite a reputation for their musical talents.
The nearly two dozen Super Stars are among hundreds of consumers who each month benefit from a multitude of programs at the county’s Wellness Centers in El Centro and Brawley. But the Super Stars are taking their recovery a step further by performing at Behavioral Health Services events, including their most recent performance for Father’s Day earlier this month. They’ve even recorded a CD, with plans in the works for a second one.
“They’re very proud of being part of this group,” said Maria Martinez, supervisor at the El Centro Wellness Center. “Once you give them the opportunity and chance to do this for themselves, you see the growth, the excitement.”
The centers offer resources for people already being treated by Behavioral Health Services, with referrals made by professional staff at the county agency’s clinics for adults ages 18 years and older who are being treated for a variety of disorders, including anxiety and depression.
At the centers, Behavioral Health Services staff helps consumers set monthly goals, tracking those goals with a variety of tools. They’re given many opportunities to pursue self-improvement through a variety of classes of their choice that include fitness instruction through contracts with Fitness Oasis and
4:13 Gymnasium, and yoga, meditation and nutrition classes via other providers. A contract with Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo insures that consumers get medically cleared for fitness programs.
“We do the exercise component and nutrition part of it, because it all contributes to wellness,” said Martinez. “We pay for the physicals because we want to eliminate barriers and help them keep moving forward.”
Through the Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program, consumers try their hand at art, or learn how to get ready to be a productive member of the workforce. They can take a life skills course that gives them practical approaches on handling circumstances life throws their way, or practice how to gain better self-esteem. There are classes for English learners, and others that help people earn their general equivalency diploma (GED).
Through a contract with Imperial Valley College, five consumers graduated this past semester with high honors, and many more are on their way to similar success.
Then there’s the music, ranging from vocal lessons to piano to guitar to percussion to instruments like trumpet and saxophone. They’re taught to read music and learn elements of music theory to help them understand rhythm.
By far, though, the most popular class is singing, said Martinez and music facilitator Sergio Alberti.
At the El Centro center, music classes have been so successful that Alberti soon will see his role expand into helping develop similar programs at the Brawley center and other Behavioral Health Services programs, such as Youth and Young Adult Services.
“We’ve seen the growth and all the positive outcomes that we’ve had,” Martinez said. “I think it will work out to our benefit, in providing more services. It’s been proven that by attending music classes, they grow. Now what they’re doing is performing. That says a lot of what recovery is and how music has helped them move forward.”
“We have a lot of good singers,” said Alberti. The former Las Vegas performer has seen his share of success, having performed at some of that city’s more prominent casinos as well as at venues overseas. His experiences give him credibility with his students.
Music is a crucial part of recovery, he said. His two years of working with consumers have shown him that.
“It’s tailormade for them. These two years of fine tuning the program show what works and what doesn’t work,” he said. More importantly, he said,
“It shows (consumers) they’re not alone. They’re exposed to something that is magical.”
“Our main thing is to have the structure, have the stability, have the education component for our consumers to be better, to do better,” Martinez said. “We want to keep them moving forward, and we’ve had success in some gaining their diplomas, gaining jobs.”
“We see the person in the beginning, how they are. It’s hard for them,” she said. “We tell them this is your future; you’ve opened the door, and there’s the light.”