Hi there! Thank you for stopping in to visit. My name is Marlaina and I am the founder and manager of Map2MusiK LLC Music Therapy Services. I’d like to tell you a little bit about how I arrived here.

Music has been at the cornerstone of my existence since I was young. I had always had a passion for expressive arts and that passion held deeply within me the recognition and understanding of their magical nature. Music, particularly, was a medium that spoke to me in a way that nothing else could quite match and I pursued it across a variety of different contexts and settings. I am proud to say that I have danced with Milwaukee Ballet in the Nutcracker production, performed in a number of community and school productions, competed in a variety of singing competitions (such as Solo and Ensemble), and ultimately became a local artist, recording original material and gigging out at a number of different music festivals across Wisconsin.

I began volunteering at a day program in Ozaukee County where I would bring my guitar and hold a recreational music group. I very quickly fell in love with this work and later learned that music therapy was an avenue to expand upon this practice to continue doing it at a professional level. I attended the University of Minnesota Twin Cities where I later graduated with my Bachelor’s of Music in Music Therapy and a Minor in Psychology. After the completion of my internship - as a music therapy undergraduate student needs to achieve 1,200 hours of clinical training - I have now been practicing in the field for three years and have had the opportunity to work with a wide spectrum of populations, diagnoses, and age ranges.

I believe deeply in the power that music holds. Music is deeply rooted within all of us; from the beat of our hearts, the rise and fall of our breath, and within each step that we take. Music has lead me down many paths; paths of understanding, learning, healing, acceptance, growth, and so much more than I can ever put into words. However, my own personal experiences aside, I have seen it impact many people along my journey, in and out of the professional arena, and revere its accessibility, relatability, evidence-based credibility, and its flexibility as a medium to reach so many individuals at their level and pace. I look forward to continuing this journey through Map2MusiK and encourage you to come along with me as we make a pathway to music and beyond.

Thank you for being here and I hope to see you soon!