Mahlie began speaking publicly about her experiences living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD), panic disorder and brain injury in 2016 after more than two decades struggling within the broken NSW and VIC public mental health systems. Her hopes are that by identifying the flaws and problems within systemic structures, working collaboratively and providing solutions to move forward in holistic and trauma-informed ways, less people will experience the negative effects of the under-resourced and uneducated systems.

Her advocacy has been published internationally and nationally and she is currently the Lived Experience Consultant with The Australian BPD Foundation and Project Air Strategy. She has also worked as a freelance consultant with the NSW Department of Education, NSW Health, VIC Health, Ministry of Health, Centre for Population Health, SANE Australia, numerous Primary Health Networks and The NSW Mental Health Commission.