Founder:
The Lifestyle Group: Ecological Lifestyle Strategies. Providing Scientifically Validated, Culturally Sensitive, World-class Alternatives to Traditional Lifestyle Needs.
Training:
University of Maryland, College Park: Computer Science and Psychology
R.H. Smith School of Business: Marketing Strategy & International Finance (Summa Cum Laude, Multiple Degrees, Bachelor of Science)
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Graduate Level Research in Ancient Near Eastern Archaelogy & Anthropology, Indigenous Art & Epistemology, Culture & Consciousness, Lifestyle Medicine, Positive Psychology, Social Ecology. (Summa Cum Laude, Master of Liberal Arts)
HMI College of Hypnotherapy, Los Angeles: Clinical Hypnotherapy (CHt)
Specialization in Trauma Informed Somatic Arts & Regression Therapy by Dr. Brian Weiss, M.D
Florence Academy of Fine Arts, Florence, Italy: Classical Atelier Residency.
Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, Paris, France: Ecological Design.
Music Conservatory of Seville, Christina Hereen Foundation, Seville, Andalucia, Spain. (Virtuoso Level Certification)
Granada University, History of Andalusian Music, Granada, Spain.
Practitioner Certifications:
Trauma Informed Somatic Behaviorist
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
Jungian Guided Imagery
Regression Therapist
Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner
Handwriting Analyst
Dream Therapist
Professional Memberships:
Hypnotherapist Union Local 472
American Hypnosis Association
American College of Lifestyle Medicine
BOOKS & Publications:
Dignity and Difference in the Quest for Ecological Wisdom (2021)
Wisdom's Dance with Eros (Objet D'Art)
Cosmographies of the Divine: Hermeneutics of the Cosmic Body (Harvard University, 2024)
Devla Dervish Mahler is a 21st century Renaissance Woman. Fluent in 9 languages, she is a global entrepreneur, award-winning artist, scholar, and behaviorist with research interests in the fields of Lifestyle Medicine, anthropology, archaeology, and Social Ecology. With a historic early college admission at 15 years of age and an "Outstanding Achievement Scholarship Award", Devla pursued honors degrees in Computer Science & Psychology, as well as Marketing Strategy and International Finance at The R.H. Smith School of Business. Notable mentors and influencers were Peter Morici, former United States Chief Economist, and fellow University of Maryland alumnus Sergei Brin, Google Founder.
Early in her career, her unique international background, highly developed creative and analytical skills, led her to advisory work and complex international business planning for high net worth clients. During this time, she observed first hand that problem-solving and influencing some of the world's most influential and multi-dimensional individuals, required far greater depth of understanding than mere analysis of ROI. Drawing upon her cross-disciplinary work in psychology, programming, the arts, business, and Lifestyle Medicine, Devla founded her global clinic in 2014, a living laboratory dedicated to the study and pursuit of Flourishing; a natural creative outgrowth of the high touch advisory services she delivered to her financial clients.
A keen ability to identify and restructure highly complex behavioral, cultural and organizational systems has led her to serve as the expert advisor of choice to heads of global institutions such as the IFC and the World Bank, as well as, to numerous statesmen, public figures, celebrity athletes, and global business entrepreneurs. Having lived in over 20 countries, deeply immersed in a plethora of cultures, Devla credits her wealth of synergistic creativity to deep wells of ancient cultural wisdom. She explores said ecological wisdom traditions in the form of concrete Lifestyle Medicine practices with her clients within the accelerated contexts and challenges of our Posthumanist world.
Fun fact: after touring the world as an award-winning performing artist for a few years in her late teens and early 20's, Devla made Carnival history by being the first international artist to have been featured to an audience of more than 100 million viewers during the 2012 Rio de Janeiro Carnival.