Speaker's Profile

Dr. Nikole Benders-Hadi is a board-certified psychiatrist and is thrilled to be joining the team as Chief Medical Officer at Talkspace. Dr. Benders-Hadi earned her BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and completed her medical degree and residency training at New York University School of Medicine, after which she completed a fellowship in Public Psychiatry at Columbia University. She has done research and writing on women’s mental health issues as well as recovery-focused treatment programs for individuals with serious mental illness. She believes passionately in reducing mental health stigma and improving access to care for individuals across the entire spectrum of behavioral health conditions through the use of digital technology.

Prior to joining Talkspace, Nikole served as Vice President and Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Included Health (formerly Doctor On Demand and Grand Rounds), a leading virtual care and navigation company. She also previously served as the Chief of Psychiatry at Rockland Psychiatric Center in New York.
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Nikole lives in White Plains, NY with her husband and two sons, Aden and Gabriel. She enjoys spending quality time with family (especially her identical twin sister) as well as cooking, traveling and watching movies.