Nathan Gerard
Nathan Gerard is an organizational psychologist and associate professor in the CSULB Department Health Care Administration. He joined the Department in 2015 and was awarded early tenure in 2020. Before training as an organizational psychologist, Nathan worked in the healthcare industry in London and New York across various sectors (charitable, non-profit, and private). Nathan continues to apply his training to the field of healthcare, while also maintaining an engagement with the conceptual and historical foundations of organizational psychology. Nathan teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in the department on the topics of management and organization, leadership, and human resources.
Dr. Gerard received his Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Prior to completing his doctorate, Nathan held research posts at University College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, and was a visiting scholar at London Business School’s Center for Scientific Enterprise. Nathan also holds a master’s degree in Philosophy of Mental Disorder from King’s College London and a bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology and Philosophy from Tufts University.
Dr. Gerard’s scholarly work is informed by strong interdisciplinary interests in the humanities, social sciences, critical theory, and psychoanalysis. Topics include:
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The psychoanalytic study of organizations
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Anxieties and defenses in care work
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Irrational organizational behavior and unconscious motivation
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Motivation, meaning, and alienation at work
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Organizational culture and change
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Critical work and organizational psychology
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HCA 312 Health Personnel Management
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HCA 410 Health Management and Organization
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HCA 432 Leadership in Healthcare
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HCA 505 Organization and Systems of Healthcare
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HCA 698 Final Project
Books
Gerard, N. (2023). Winnicott and Labor’s Eclipse of Life: Work is Where We Start From. New York, NY: Routledge.
Refereed Articles
Gerard, N. (2024). From anti-work to dis-organizational psychology. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 17(1), 50-52.
Gerard, N. (2023). To sit quietly by oneself: On neoliberal capitalism’s “unprecedented inner loneliness.” Journal of Psychosocial Studies. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1332/14786737Y2023D000000009
Lee, J., Gerard, N., & Takaishi, K. (2023). Bridging the gap between student and administrator perceptions of mindfulness in a university setting: An exploratory qualitative study. Journal of American College Health. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2023.2265986
Gerard, N. (2022). Still servants of work? Exploring the role of the critic in work and organizational psychology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 17(1), 13-25.
Gerard, N., Duncan, C. M., & Allcorn, S. (2022). Recognizing cocoon phenomena in a hospital restructuring: A case study of a psychodynamic organizational consultation. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 19(3), 328-337.
Gerard, N. (2022). More alive, though not necessarily more stable: Hans Loewald and the idea of replenishing regression in organizations. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 27, 283-299.
Gerard, N. (2022). Bearing witness to terror: A meditation on Stein’s “Disposable Youth.” Clio’s Psyche, 28(3), 286-290.
Gerard, N., Duncan, C. M., & Allcorn, S. (2022). Cocoon above! Cocoon below!: Examining the vicissitudes of cocoon phenomena in organizational life. Psychodynamic Practice, 28(2), 138-151.
Gerard, N., & Allcorn, S. (2021). Infusing strategic planning with psychoanalytic insight: An exploratory case study. Journal of Work Applied Management, 14(2), 212-225.
Gerard, N. (2021). Healthcare management and the humanities: An invitation to dialogue. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6771.
Gerard, N. (2020). Psychoanalysis: Neglected ally in an emerging “critical healthcare management studies” (CHMS)? Journal of Health Organization and Management, 34(2), 173-180.
Gerard, N. (2020). Cursed creatives: Alienation, sublimation, and the plight of contemporary creative work. Culture and Organization, 26(5-6), 388-404.
Gerard, N. (2019). Reparation compulsion: Theorizing the pitfalls of guilt-driven labor. Organization Studies, 41(5), 621-639.
Gerard, N. (2019). Perils of professionalization: Chronicling a crisis and renewing the potential of healthcare management. Health Care Analysis, 27(4), 269-288.
Gerard, N. (2019). Millennial managers: Exploring the next generation of talent. Leadership in Health Services, 32(3), 364-386.
Gerard, N. (2018). Real work, revisited: Renewing the psychoanalytic study of work. Organisational and Social Dynamics, 18(1), 20-40.
Gerard, N. (2018). Recognizing the human: A psychoanalytic engagement with HRM and its discontents. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization, 18(2), 363-370.
Gerard, N. (2018). Universal healthcare and universal basic income: Complementary proposals for a precarious future. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 32(3), 394-401.
Gerard, N. (2017). So much more than a job: A psychoanalytic exploration of healthcare work. European Journal of Environment and Public Health, 1(2), 1-6.
Gerard, N. (2017). Handmaidens to capitalism. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 10(3), 410-414.
Gerard, N. (2017). Dead family working. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 20(3), 363-390.
Gerard, N. (2017). Rethinking compassion fatigue. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 31(3), 363-368.
Gerard, N. (2017). “Marx was right”: Lessons from Lewin. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 54(4), 83-86.
Gerard, N. (2017). Can millennials talk about death?: Young adults’ perceptions of end-of-life care. Journal of Health Administration Education, 34(1), 23-48.
Gerard, N. (2016). Toward a critical industrial-organizational psychology. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 54(2).
Invited Papers
Gerard, N. (in press). Encyclopedia entry - “capitalism.” In M. Ball (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Organizational Psychology. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Book Chapters
Gerard, N. (forthcoming). Getting lost without a self to lose: Winnicott and psychic absence in the Covidian era. In M. Bowker & A. Buzby (Eds.), Getting lost: Psycho-political withdrawal in the Covidian era. London: Karnac Press.
Gerard, N. (forthcoming). Critical perspectives on work psychology in practice. In Islam et al. (Eds.), Handbook of Critical Work and Organizational Psychology. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Book Reviews
Gerard, N. (2020). Review of the book Undoing Work, Rethinking Community: A Critique of the Social Function of Work, by James A. Chamberlain. Contemporary Political Theory, 19, 214-216.
Gerard, N. (2016). The working unwell. [Review of the book The Wellness Syndrome, by Carl Cederstrom & Andre Spicer]. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization, 16(3), 171-175.
