Our Story
The Heart Behind Mala Child & Family Institute
What is a Mala?
A mala is a string of meditation beads traditionally used to center the mind, calm the body, and cultivate presence during prayer or mindfulness practice. At Mala Child & Family Institute, this symbol represents more than just stillness—it reflects our core belief in connection, healing, and community care.
Each bead on a mala is unique, yet it is part of a greater whole—just as each person is deeply connected to their family, community, and the world. This imagery guides our work in trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, and neurodiversity-affirming mental health care.
Our name, Mala, serves as a daily reminder that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. We are all strengthened by the safe, nurturing relationships and supportive environments that allow us to grow, thrive, and break cycles of pain. At our core, we believe that compassionate connection is the foundation of mental wellness.
Inspired to Break Cycles
The vision for Mala Child & Family Institute was born from the personal journey of Dr. Hasti Ashtiani Raveau, a licensed clinical psychologist and passionate advocate for trauma-informed, culturally sensitive mental health care. After immigrating to the United States from Iran at the age of 13, Dr. Raveau committed herself to building a future rooted in healing, education, and justice.
While earning her doctorate in clinical psychology, Dr. Raveau saw firsthand how many graduate training programs overlook the needs of minority and underserved students. Yet through the presence of a few deeply invested mentors, she experienced the power of affirming guidance, inclusion, and meaningful connection.
Driven by these experiences, Dr. Raveau envisioned a multidisciplinary mental health clinic that would nurture cycle-breakers — clients and future clinicians alike. At Mala, she works to provide the kind of mentorship, care, and systemic change that she once longed for: equitable, neurodiversity-affirming, community-rooted support for all.
Inspired to
Give Hope
While in graduate school, Dr. Raveau experienced the devastating loss of her only sibling who died by suicide. He had lived with ADHD and, like so many neurodivergent youth, never received the understanding or support he needed from the systems around him. This loss became the driving force behind Dr. Raveau’s lifelong mission.
In founding Mala Child & Family Institute, Dr. Raveau committed herself to transforming the way neurodivergent and racially marginalized children are treated within the mental health, educational, and medical systems. Her work centers on preventing trauma, empowering families, and ensuring every child has access to compassionate, effective, and holistic mental health care that affirms their identity and supports their full potential.
When Dr. Raveau’s son was identified as autistic, her understanding of neurodiversity-affirming care deepened profoundly. She came to embrace a key truth: disability is not a personal flaw, but a mismatch between the individual and their environment. Through her parenting journey, she discovered that what helped her son thrive wasn’t therapy alone — but a compassionate, collaborative village of support spanning home, school, healthcare, and community.
This experience further fueled Dr. Raveau’s mission to ensure that other neurodivergent children and their families have access to the kind of wraparound, strengths-based care they truly need. At Mala, she works to build systems of support that affirm each child’s uniqueness and promote healing through connection, understanding, and dignity.
Inspired to
Provide Connection
And that’s where our story begins.
Years after completing their graduate training, Dr. Raveau and her best friend, Mariam Saparamadu, a clinical social worker and founder of Sakoon Psychotherapy, came together with a shared purpose: to create a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive training program for postgraduate mental health clinicians. Their vision was rooted in care, not just for clients, but for the therapists themselves.
They believed that nurturing and affirming the unique identities, needs, and lived experiences of clinicians was essential for creating sustainable and effective healing environments. What began as a thoughtful training initiative soon grew into something more. With passion, teamwork, and aligned values, this compassionate group of providers laid the foundation for what became the Mala Child & Family Institute, officially founded in May 2021.