Faculty Directory
Nathaniel Wade
Visiting Assistant Professor
Nathaniel Wade
Ph.D.
Contact
Telephone: 617-552-0526
Email: nathaniel.wade@bc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
- M.S., Virginia Commonwealth University
- B.A., Wheaton College
Courses
Group Counseling
Supervision Seminar
History of Psychology
Counseling Theories
Research Interests
Nathaniel’s research interests center on the processes and outcomes of psychotherapy. Specifically, he has worked to develop and test interventions to promote forgiveness, to understand the impact of integrating religion and spirituality into psychotherapy, and to reduce the stigma associated with seeking counseling. His most recent interest is leveraging physical exercise to make psychotherapy more effective.
Department
Profile
Dr. Nathaniel Wade is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Boston College Lynch School of Educational and Human Development. He is the founding Director of Network Community Counseling Services, a training clinic specializing in group psychotherapy. In addition to being a licensed psychologist in Iowa and Massachusetts, he is also a Certified Group Psychotherapist.
Following the completion of his undergraduate program, Dr. Wade worked for four years as an Addictions Counselor in both an abstinence-based agency and a methadone clinic. He then went on to attend graduate school for Counseling Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Following the completion of his Ph.D. in 2003, he joined the Iowa State faculty.
At Iowa State, Dr. Wade served as Professor of Psychology, Associate Department Chair, and Training Director of the Counseling Psychology PhD program. In 2026, he moved to Massachusetts to open a private practice with his wife, Elizabeth, an LMHC.
Dr. Wade's research centers on the processes and outcomes of psychotherapy. Specifically, he has developed and tested interventions to promote forgiveness, to understand the impact of integrating religion and spirituality into psychotherapy, and to reduce the stigma associated with seeking counseling. His most recent work leverages physical exercise to make psychotherapy more effective. He has published three edited books, over 100 scholarly articles and chapters, and has received over 7 million in grant funding. He is an APA fellow of two divisions: Group Psychology and Psychotherapy (49) and the Society of Counseling Psychology (17).
When not working, he enjoys spending time with family, hiking in the mountains of New England, listening to podcasts or audiobooks while working outside, and playing soccer each week with the “over the hill” crowd.
Select Publications
Williamson, H.E., Wade, N.G., & Cornish, M.A. (2026). Effects of a self-forgiveness intervention on psychological and physiological outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Manuscript accepted for publication.
Seidman, A.J., Wade, N.G., & Tittler, M.V. (2026). Listening and being heard during group psychotherapy: A response surface analysis of (in)congruence in communication on cohesion and interest in continued group services after the initial session. Psychotherapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000629
Meyer, J. D., Kelly, S., Gidley, J., Lansing, J., Smith, S., Churchill, S., Connolly, M., Kroska, E., Goldberg, S. B., Abercrombie, H., Murray, T., & Wade, N (2026). Exercise priming to enhance therapeutic bond and behavioral activation in CBT for MDD: A randomized controlled target-engagement trial with remission signal. Journal of Affective Disorders, 405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.121606
Lall-Alvarez, A., Wade, N.G., Davis, D.E., & Hook, J.N. (2026). Efficacy of a trainee-driven approach to achieving religious and spiritual competencies in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, 63(2), 173-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000596
Williamson, H.E., Stahly, J., & Wade, N.G. (2025). Group therapy with deaf and hard of hearing clients: Promoting effective and inclusive mental health care. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 29, 1-27. DOI: 10.1080/00207284.2025.2552887
Wade, N.G. (2024). Graduate training in religious and spiritual competencies: A counseling psychology perspective. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 11(4), 388-398. DOI:10.1037/scp0000324
Vogel, D.L., & Wade, N.G. (Eds.) (2022). Cambridge handbook of stigma and mental health. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108920995
Worthington, E.L., Jr. & Wade, N.G. (Eds.) (2020). Handbook of forgiveness (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351123341
Tucker, J.R., Wade, N.G., Abraham, W.T., Bitman-Heinrichs, R.L., Cornish, M.A., & Post, B.C. (2020). Modeling cohesion change in group counseling: The role of client characteristics, group variables, and leader behaviors. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 67, 371-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000403
Wade, N. G., Cornish, M.A., Tucker, J.R., Worthington, E.L., Jr., Sandage, S., & Rye, M. (2018). Promoting forgiveness: Characteristics of the treatment, the clients, and their interaction. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 65(3), 358-371. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000260
Honors and Awards
Career Excellence in Research, Teaching, and Service—Iowa State University, Department of Psychology (2026)
Excellence in Teaching Group Dynamics Award—American Psychological Association, Division 49 (2024)
Outstanding Success in Extramural Funding Award—Iowa State University, Department of Psychology (2024)
Ronald E. MacNair Program Faculty Mentor of the Year—Iowa State University (2023)
LAS Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring—Iowa State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2022)
Outstanding Faculty Member of the Year—Iowa State University, Department of Psychology (2019)
Fellow of the American Psychological Association—Division 17, Society of Counseling Psychology (2019)
Excellence in Departmental Service—Iowa State University, Department of Psychology (2016)
Fellow of the American Psychological Association—Division 49, Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy (2015)
Grants & Fellowships
J. Meyer (PI), N.G. Wade, W. Lefferts, P. Lui, A.L. Phillips, M. Herring and D.C. Lee (Co-I’s) Resistance Exercise to Treat Major Depression via Cerebrovascular Mechanisms: Confirming Efficacy and Examining Response Heterogeneity. National Institutes of Health R01 (July 2023–June 2028) $3,605,849
J. Meyer (PI), N.G. Wade, T. Murray, H. Abercrombie and D.C. Lee (Co-I’s) ActiveCBT: Using Exercise to Maximize the Benefits of Psychotherapy. National Institutes of Health R61/R33 (April 2023–March 2028) $3,700,436
S. Sandage (PI), L. Captari, E. Choe (Co-I’s), N.G. Wade (consultant) Positive Psychology and Formation-Based Flourishing among Spiritual Leaders and Therapists. Peale Foundation (March 2022–February 2027) $2,194,385
N.G. Wade (PI), D.E. Davis, and J. Hook (Co-I’s) Achieving Religious and Spiritual Competencies in Counseling: A Trainee-Driven Approach. John Templeton Foundation through the Research in Spiritual and Religious Competencies in Clinical Training Initiative (June 2022–June 2024) $147,125