Dr. Anna Hiatt Nicholaides

It’s an honor to walk alongside people in their struggles, joys, and fantasies. And I never cease to be changed by the journey.

Anna has spent her life pondering and studying the dynamics of relationships. She has decades of experience treating couples of various stripes and is fascinated and moved by every couple she meets. Anna orients her treatment of couples with an eye on the dynamic, on what is and isn’t communicated, and on what is said without words. This new focus of attention helps couples see themselves and each other more clearly, which yields all manner of change.

During and after her postdoctoral year at The University of Pennsylvania, she received extensive training in the evidence-based practice of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. This attachment-based model informs her understanding of the life-or-death experience each person feels when they come into the office. She knows what an incredible risk each client takes when they begin telling their story and trusting her with their most intimate relationship.

When you meet Anna, you’ll get the sense that she wants you to feel comfortable, safe, and known. She is someone that admires and appreciates people, and you’ll feel her care and curiosity pervade the treatment. She is known to use humor in sessions, too. Silliness can be an invaluable antidote when you least expect it.

I live by the philosophy that

processing anything with two open minds can cure all manner of ails.

I could spend every day

gardening in the springtime while my kids play around me.

As a therapist, I

travel to different worlds in each session, and absolutely love the work I do.

Credentials

• Psy.D., Widener University
• B.A., Psychology, University of Virginia
• Certificate of Psychoanalytic Couples Therapy, William Alanson White Institute, Couples Therapy Training and Education Program
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania’s Counseling and Psychological Services
• Internship, Swarthmore College’s Counseling and Psychological Services
• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist Certification Eligible

Affiliations

• Philadelphia Society of Psychoanalytic Psychology
• Division 39 of the American Psychological Association, Division of Psychoanalysis
• Division 39, Section VIII of the American Psychological Association, Division of Couple and Family Therapy and Psychoanalysis
• International Center for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy
• Philadelphia Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy
• Insight for All

Publications

• New York Times
• Washington Post
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Philadelphia Magazine
• The Post and Courier
• Bustle
• Elite Daily
• Authority Magazine
• Thriveworks
• Business Insider
• Healthline
• The Columbus Dispatch
• Thrive Global