Mahalia Hartas

Mahalia is a Senior Registered Psychologist who provides therapy for children aged 8 years and over, teenagers, and adults, and psychological assessments for children from 4 years of age through to adulthood. She has a passion for neurodivergence, psychological assessment, and helping people better understand how their brain works.

As an AuDHD psychologist (Autistic and ADHD), Mahalia brings both professional knowledge and lived understanding of neurodivergence to her work. This shapes her commitment to neuroaffirming practice and her belief that people shouldn't have to change or hide who they are in order to be supported. She recognises the importance of looking beyond what others see on the outside and understanding each person's individual strengths, challenges and experiences.

Mahalia has particular interests in Autism, ADHD, learning differences, intellectual functioning and complex or overlapping presentations. She especially enjoys the detective work involved in psychological assessment—bringing together developmental history, everyday functioning, observations and assessment results to make sense of the bigger picture.

For Mahalia, assessment isn't about finding a label or reducing someone to a collection of scores. It's an opportunity to understand why things might feel harder, what someone does well, what support they need, and what helps them thrive. She aims to make assessment findings understandable and useful, with practical recommendations that translate into everyday life.

Alongside assessment, Mahalia provides therapy for children, teenagers and adults, with particular interests in neurodivergence, anxiety, emotional regulation, perfectionism, burnout, identity and self-understanding. Her therapy style is collaborative, practical and flexible, and she enjoys incorporating creativity, interests and play where appropriate rather than expecting everyone to engage in traditional sit-and-talk therapy.

Above all, Mahalia wants people to feel that they can show up as themselves. Whether someone comes to Maple for therapy, assessment or both, she hopes they leave with greater understanding of themselves, more compassion for how their brain works, and strategies that actually fit their life.