Greens MP Golriz Ghahraman hits back after she was accused of low act while in court over $8,000 theft

A former New Zealand Greens MP has hit back at claims she is 'playing the mental health card' after she was caught shoplifting more than $8,000 worth of clothes.

Golriz Ghahraman, 43, in March pleaded guilty to four charges of shoplifting after swiping $8,367 worth of clothing from three different shops between October and December last year.

She appeared at the Auckland District Court on Monday and will be sentenced on Thursday, having asked for a conviction not to be recorded.

Ghahraman, who previously held the minor party's justice portfolio, resigned immediately from parliament following the charges.

'It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work,' she said at the time.

'This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.

'The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.'

Ghahraman said she wanted to be honest about the struggles she was experiencing as she spoke publicly for the first time about the incident on Wednesday.

'Nobody's getting off easy by publicly talking about being f***ed in the head, being someone who's in a mental health crisis,' she told Stuff.

'What I'd say about the whole, playing a 'mental health card' thing, is it's the hardest thing in the world.'

The 43-year-old noted she took responsibility for her actions immediately.

'So it's not a case of playing the mental health card to not go through all of the other things,' she said.

The former MP said despite copping criticism, her inbox had also been flooded with messages of support for speaking out.

'I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry. The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world,' she said at the time she was charged. 

Ghahraman, a former UN human rights lawyer, was the first refugee to be sworn in as a New Zealand MP, having arrived in the country as an asylum seeker from Iran.

She was selected as a Green Party list candidate in January 2017.

She will return to court on Thursday for sentencing.