Chief Medical Officer
Nikole Benders-Hadi, M.D., is a board-certified psychiatrist and Chief Medical Officer at Talkspace, where she leads the company’s clinical and quality teams and partners closely with marketing, product development, and sales to deliver high-quality, accessible digital mental health care at scale. In this role, she drives clinical innovation, enhances care quality and outcomes, and supports the delivery of services to a diverse and growing national patient population.
Dr. Benders-Hadi earned her B.A. in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and completed her medical degree and psychiatry residency at New York University School of Medicine. She went on to complete a fellowship in Public Psychiatry at Columbia University. Her clinical and academic work has focused on women’s mental health and recovery-oriented care for individuals with serious mental illness.
A strong advocate for innovation in behavioral health, Dr. Benders-Hadi is passionate about expanding access to care and reducing stigma through the thoughtful use of technology. She has held senior leadership roles across the digital health space, including serving as Vice President and Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Included Health. Earlier in her career, she was Chief of Psychiatry at Rockland Psychiatric Center in New York.
Dr. Benders-Hadi is a recognized voice in digital mental health and speaks regularly at national conferences, on expert panels, and as a keynote speaker on topics including the future of care delivery, clinical quality and the integration of AI and technology into behavioral health systems.
