Kearran Giovanni has joined “General Hospital” as Anna Devane’s new therapist, Dr. Nichols. And she certainly has her work cut out for her.
Anna has a lot of healing to do after her recent mental health crisis. But as frightening as her breakdown was, it could finally force Anna to confront what she has been through and get the help she needs to move forward.
Dr. Nichols will be tasked with helping Anna pick up the pieces and eventually return to her life and work in Port Charles.
Giovanni is no stranger to daytime television. She previously appeared as Vivian Wright on “One Life to Live,” where she worked with current “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini.
She also has an extensive list of primetime credits, including appearances on “Designated Survivor,” “Major Crimes,” and “The Resident.”
Giovanni made her first appearance as Dr. Nichols on Thursday, September 10. Although viewers haven’t seen her before, the character is already established as a doctor on staff at General Hospital. That means Dr. Nichols isn’t being introduced as a newcomer to Port Charles, which could be important when it comes to treating Anna.
The Help Anna Needs
During her breakdown, Anna told Jason that she had initially tried to tell her doctors in France the truth about what she was experiencing. According to Anna, they didn’t believe her.
That ultimately led Anna to hide what was really happening to her so that the doctors would release her and allow her to return to Port Charles. If that’s true, Anna’s experience with Dr. Nichols could be very different.
As someone who works at General Hospital and is already familiar with Port Charles, Dr. Nichols should have a much better understanding of the extraordinary people, events and circumstances involved in Anna’s trauma. Anna won’t have to convince her that people like Cesar Faison, Peter August and Valentin Cassadine exist or explain the complicated history that connects them all.
More importantly, Anna may finally have a psychologist who is willing to listen to what she actually experienced rather than dismissing her story because it sounds impossible. That could make an enormous difference in Anna’s recovery.
Anna has spent much of her life surviving one traumatic experience after another without really stopping to process what those experiences have done to her. Her hallucinations of Peter and her near attack on Britt Westbourne made it painfully clear that she can no longer simply push those feelings aside and keep going.
Fortunately, she won’t be facing her recovery alone. Valentin has already shown that he intends to support her, and Anna has friends and family in Port Charles who understand just how deeply Cesar Faison and everything connected to him affected her.
Can Dr. Nichols Help Anna Heal?
Bringing Dr. Nichols into Anna’s storyline gives “General Hospital” an opportunity to explore something the show doesn’t always have time to address: what happens after a character survives years of trauma.
Stopping Anna from hurting Britt was only the immediate crisis. Now Anna has to deal with everything that brought her to that point.
Dr. Nichols could become an important part of that process, especially if Anna feels safe enough to finally tell someone the whole truth. For a woman who has spent decades being the strong one, accepting help may be one of the hardest things Anna has ever had to do.
But after everything she has endured, it may also be exactly what she needs. And with Kearran Giovanni stepping into the role, “General Hospital” has brought in an experienced actress to help tell what could become an important new chapter in Anna Devane’s story.
