By Cinara Marquis
Everyone has heard of “the power of music,” at least once in their life. To Lauren Mueller, SUNY Plattsburgh 2019 alumna, that power is palpable.
“It’s not just a mystical saying — it’s real,” Mueller said.
As a child, Mueller adored music and dreamed of doing it her whole life — but when she was unable to succeed in auditioning for Kidz Bop, American Idol and Nickelodeon, her dreams shattered. But at 12, she realized that her dreams of becoming a rockstar may be a little bit unrealistic, so instead she embraced the thoughts of becoming a generalist therapist or a children’s book author, they still didn’t feel right.
“I wanted music every single day in my life,” Mueller said. “If I couldn’t find a profession to do music or the arts, I would feel entirely lost.”
At 16, Mueller discovered music therapy and knew that sharing the power of music was for her.
The people around her did not share this enthusiasm and were skeptical about Mueller’s choice.
“I was met with lots of strange attitudes,” Mueller said. “I just had to stay stubborn and keep my head up.”
Despite what the people around her were saying, the music therapy field was growing. Mueller could do a lot with music therapy, from working in recreation and research to schools and clinics. She said that with the United States aging out and geriatric care coming to the forefront, these kinds of therapies are finding their way into common practice.
Mueller graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2019 with a bachelor of science in music and a minor in psychology. She went straight on to her masters for music therapy at SUNY New Paltz and graduated in 2023.
Mueller is now a board-certified music therapist and is on her way to becoming licensed in creative arts therapy. She finds that the career has deepened her relationship and admiration for all of the aspects of music.
According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy employs musical interventions to help clients reach individualized goals in a supportive environment.
There are four methods of music therapy: recreation, when a client or therapist plays or sings something; improvisation, which is improvised singing, playing and rhythm work; compositional, in which the client and therapist write a song; and receptive, where individuals simply listen to music.
She said people don’t see the power of music until they are in the room.
“It’s spooky when you see it for the first time. The folks in hospice knew that music was just nice until they saw their client finally fall asleep, or until their client was going from erratic breathing to finally an even respiration,” Mueller said. “What a gift that we have.”
Mueller deals primarily with quality of life and practices a humanistic, person-centered therapy in which empowerment is the main goal. She works in end-of-life care in hospice as well as in a private mental health practice. This year marks her first full year of employment.
“You do not have to give up when you are looking towards the end. It’s just the end in a physical space, but the body is capable of anything you set your mind to. It’s more powerful than you think,” Mueller said.
The work isn’t easy — Mueller is working with people who are on their deathbed. She said that it’s intense but critical to her.
“The work that I do is important, even when it’s sad,” Mueller said. “I feel called to do it.”
