Ghahraman admitted four shoplifting charges relating to the theft of thousands of dollars' worth of clothing when she appeared in the Auckland District Court in March this year.
The 43-year-old resigned as an MP earlier in the year after the charges came to light.
Judge June Jelas had allowed Ghahraman to sit in the public gallery for today's sentencing, saying she would not be receiving a custodial sentence.
Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock contested Ghahraman's mental health being a direct cause of her shoplifting.
McClintock said a mental health report submitted indicated there was a possibility of a link between Gharaman's undiagnosed PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and the offending.
But McClintock said the link is tenuous and tempers the extent to which this can be used to lower her culpability.
McClintock put Ghahraman's culpability at medium to high gravity of offending.
Ghahraman's lawyer Annabel Cresswell asked for a discharge without conviction, arguing her client's early acceptance of responsibility, show of remorse and low likelihood of re-offending should be considered.
Sentencing was reserved until Thursday afternoon.
In a statement in January, Ghahraman said stress relating to her work had led her to "act in ways that are completely out of character".
"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."
The former politician was charged with stealing $695 worth of clothing from Wellington's Cre8iveworx Store on October 22 last year and a navy cardigan valued at $389 from Standard Issue in the Auckland suburb of Newmarket on December 22.
She was also charged with two counts of shoplifting from Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby, another Auckland suburb, taking $5773 of items on December 21 and $2060 worth of goods on December 23.
