About Dr. Mahaffey

Martha B. Mahaffey, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, licensed to practice in the State of Nevada for 35  years. She has maintained a private practice the last 27  years, specializing in forensic psychology in criminal, civil, immigration, and family court cases. As a bilingual Spanish-speaking psychologist, she has performed over 2000 forensic evaluations of English and Spanish-speaking individuals, consulted to Courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and various community organizations, and testified in Nevada District Courts, California Superior Courts, U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Immigration Court. 

During the first 20 years of her forensic practice, Dr. Mahaffey concurrently provided psychotherapy to juveniles, adults, couples, and families. From 1988 to 1998, she worked at the Reno VA Medical Center, treating mentally ill veterans and serving as Director of the Psychology Internship Training Program. She held academic appointments as Assistant and Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Nevada School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, teaching and supervising psychology interns, psychiatry residents, and medical students. She was licensure examination commissioner for the State of Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners, internship accreditation site visitor for the American Psychological Association, and recipient of the James Mikawa Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Psychology from the Nevada Psychological Association. Her research interests included forensic evaluations of Hispanic individuals, domestic violence, treatment of mentally ill veterans, and psychology licensure examination.

In 1986, Dr. Mahaffey earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Nevada, Reno, In 1980, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Santa Clara University. For the past 42  years, she has been married to attorney Michael Mahaffey. The couple has three adult sons and enjoys a second home in Lake Tahoe