Nathan Lorenzo Smith

Nathan L. Smith (he/him/his) is a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program, social justice, and diversity specialization at Fielding Graduate University. He is a Clinical and Community Psychology Fellow through the Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC) at the Substance Use and Addiction Treatment Unit (SATU) and The Consultation Center (TCC). Nathan is the recipient of Fielding’s 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) student award in recognition of his excellent contributions to promoting DEI in Fielding’s Clinical Psychology doctoral program. He is also the interim president of Fielding’s Black Students Association and a Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership and Education fellow.

Nathan earned his MA in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. He also obtained an MSW from Fordham University and a post-graduate Addiction Counseling certificate from Albertus Magnus College. Before his graduate studies, Nathan received a BA in Social Science from Albertus Magnus College and his AS in General Studies from Gateway Community College. Nathan is a licensed clinical social worker and alcohol and drug counselor in Connecticut. Before his doctoral studies, he was a senior clinical director for Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) funded Young Adult Services (YAS) transitional programs in New Haven, CT. As a seasoned clinician, Nathan has worked across psychiatric emergency and inpatient settings with adolescents, young adults, and adults diagnosed with various psychiatric conditions at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. He has also worked as a Psychology and Human Services undergraduate associate faculty member at Post University.

Clinically, Nathan has trained at the West Haven Child and Adolescent Services (CAS) Program and Substance Use and Addiction Treatment Unit. He utilizes a multiculturally informed psychodynamic therapeutic approach to support individuals’ reparative work from various psychosocial stressors and psychological traumas. He has a particular interest in working with racial and ethnic minority populations, specifically Black boys and men exposed to violence and racial trauma. Nathan also utilizes existential approaches (e.g., relational cultural theory and therapy) to explore individuals’ relational patterns and promote the importance of growth-fostering relationships to transform chronic disconnection into connection and increase relational resiliency capacity.

Through qualitative inquiry, Nathan’s research explores various social justice and diversity issues affecting racially and ethnically diverse populations. Specifically, Nathan is interested in understanding the experiences of Black boys and men exposed to violence (e.g., community and sexual), racial trauma, and substance use disorders in the Black community. During his doctoral studies, Nathan has led research on graduate students’ and faculty’s experiences living during the pandemic and Black clinical psychology graduates’ experiences with racial battle fatigue in academia. His dissertation explores the experiences of Black men aged 18-34 who have been exposed to direct and indirect community violence. Nathan’s dissertation seeks an understanding of the psychosocial and mental health effects of community violence exposure and how expressions of masculinity can either complicate or create resiliency with these experiences.