Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsAlexander Westphal, MD, PhD
Associate Professor AdjunctDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Titles
Associate Professor Adjunct
Associate Professor Adjunct, Child Study Center
Biography
Alexander Westphal is a psychiatrist with fellowship training in child psychiatry and forensic psychiatry on the faculty of Yale’s Division of Law and Psychiatry and the Yale Child Study Center. His clinical and research focus is on Autism Spectrum Disorder and the assessment and management of problematic behaviors of the type that can lead to legal involvement.
Last Updated on November 20, 2025.
Appointments
Psychiatry
Associate Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Investigative Medicine (2013)
- Fellow, Forensic Psychiatry
- Yale School of Medicine (2013)
- Fellow, Child Psychiatry
- Yale School of Medicine (2011)
- Resident, Adult Psychiatry
- Yale School of Medicine (2010)
- MD
- Brown University (2005)
Research
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Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Alexander Westphal's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Alexander Westphal's research output by year.
Fred Volkmar, MD
Rachel Loftin
Sherry McKee, PhD
Abha Gupta, MD, PhD
Adife Gulhan Ercan-Sencicek, MSc, MS, PhD
Brent Vander Wyk, PhD
43Publications
390Citations
Publications
2024
5.66 Personal and Contextual Factors Influencing Engagement in Extreme Ideologies Among Autistic Individuals: Clinician and Family Perspectives
Wijekoon S, Robison J, Welch C, Westphal A, Loftin R, Perry B, Rombos V, Picciolini C, Jachyra P, Baron-Cohen S, Penner M. 5.66 Personal and Contextual Factors Influencing Engagement in Extreme Ideologies Among Autistic Individuals: Clinician and Family Perspectives. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2024, 63: s277. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.08.387.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchNeurodivergence and the Rabbit Hole of Extremism: Uncovering Lived Experience
Wijekoon S, Robison J, Welch C, Westphal A, Loftin R, Perry B, Rombos V, Picciolini C, Bosy C, Senman L, Jachyra P, Baron-Cohen S, Penner M. Neurodivergence and the Rabbit Hole of Extremism: Uncovering Lived Experience. Autism In Adulthood 2024 DOI: 10.1089/aut.2023.0192.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricViolence Risk Assessment
Westphal A. Violence Risk Assessment. 2024, 177-187. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-52589-6_14.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2023
Editorial: Training in Autism Among First Responders
Woodbury-Smith M, Westphal A, Loftin R. Editorial: Training in Autism Among First Responders. Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders 2023, 54: 1233-1234. PMID: 36626006, DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05855-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2022
Neurodevelopmental Conditions and the NGRI Defense.
Westphal ARN. Neurodevelopmental Conditions and the NGRI Defense. The Journal Of The American Academy Of Psychiatry And The Law 2022 PMID: 36007943, DOI: 10.29158/JAAPL.220049-22.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersUnderstanding the Use of the Term “Weaponized Autism” in An Alt-Right Social Media Platform
Welch C, Senman L, Loftin R, Picciolini C, Robison J, Westphal A, Perry B, Nguyen J, Jachyra P, Stevenson S, Aggarwal J, Wijekoon S, Baron-Cohen S, Penner M. Understanding the Use of the Term “Weaponized Autism” in An Alt-Right Social Media Platform. Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders 2022, 53: 4035-4046. PMID: 35947316, PMCID: PMC10499683, DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05701-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricVulnerability to Ideologically-Motivated Violence Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Woodbury-Smith MR, Loftin R, Westphal A, Volkmar FR. Vulnerability to Ideologically-Motivated Violence Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers In Psychiatry 2022, 13: 873121. PMID: 35401260, PMCID: PMC8990964, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.873121.Commentaries, Editorials and LettersCitationsAltmetric
2021
Violence Risk Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Westphal A, Loftin R. Violence Risk Assessment in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 2021, 453-469. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-70913-6_22.ChaptersCitationsMidbrain
Westphal A. Midbrain. 2021, 2898-2899. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_568.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMetachromatic Leukodystrophy
Westphal A, Farmer M. Metachromatic Leukodystrophy. 2021, 2881-2884. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_1516.Chapters
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