Biography

Clinical Psychologist, Children's Health

Associate Professor, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Board Certified in Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology (ABPP)

The Psychology of Self-Injury podcast host & producer: https://the-psychology-of-self-injury.simplecast.com 

____________________________________________________________________________________

Postdoctoral Psychology Fellowship

     Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital (2010-2012)

Predoctoral Psychology Internship

     University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Medical Center (2009-2010)

Education

Undergraduate
Oral Roberts University (2005), Psychology
Graduate School
Regent University (2008), Clinical Psychology
Graduate School
Regent University (2010), Clinical Psychology

Research Interest

  • Adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI)
  • Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS)

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Effectiveness of a curriculum for pediatric residents to address adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury
Westers NJ, Needham HE, Walsh JB Acad Psychiatry 2023 47 1 18-24
Freedom to play, learn, live, and thrive: A youth-serving professional call to action to address firearm violence
Culyba AJ, Sigel E, Westers NJ, Barondeau J, Trent M, Coyne-Beasley T J Adolesc Health 2023 72 2 177-178
Improving capacity to identify, assess, and manage adolescents engaging in non-suicidal self-injury using patient avatars
Taliaferro LA, Westers NJ, Matsumiya B, Ingraham K, Muehlenkamp JJ, Hughes CE Med Teach 2023 45 11 1283-1289
Media representations of nonsuicidal self-injury
Westers NJ. In Lloyd-Richardson EE, Baetens I, Whitlock J, eds. The Oxford handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury 2023 Oxford University Press; C39P1–C39P90
Nonsuicidal self-injury risk assessment, intervention, and guidance for first responders and medical settings
Westers NJ, Tinsley B. In Lloyd-Richardson EE, Baetens I, Whitlock J, eds. The Oxford handbook of nonsuicidal self-injury 2023 Oxford University Press; C44P1–C44P107
Associations between connections to parents and friends and non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents: The mediating role of developmental assets
Taliaferro LA, Jang ST, Westers NJ, Muehlenkamp JJ, Whitlock JL, McMorris BJ Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020 25 2 359-371

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Board of Professional Psychology - ABPP (2019)
  • American Psychological Association (2007)
  • International Society for the Study of Self-Injury (2012)
  • Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (2011)
  • Texas Psychological Association (2011)