Justin Ayankola, MD
Medical Director
Justin Ayankola, MD, is a double-boarded adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. He began his academic journey with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology, graduating summa cum laude from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. He then pursued his medical degree at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, where he completed psychiatric clerkships at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital.
Following graduation, Dr. Ayankola specialized further by completing his general psychiatry residency at Yale University. His primary outpatient experience was at Yale Mental Health & Counseling, an integrated university behavioral health clinic. There, he provided therapy and medication management to professional, graduate, and undergraduate students.
Dr. Ayankola pursued an advanced child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center, specifically in the Solnit South track. His training took place primarily at the Albert J. Solnit Psychiatric Center in Middletown, CT, the sole state psychiatric hospital for youth in Connecticut. During his final year, he was honored to serve as the John E. Schowalter Chief Resident of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a role chosen by his peers and faculty.
Most recently, Dr. Ayankola served as the inaugural Medical Director of Collaborative Care Psychiatry at WellStar Health System. In this role, he played a crucial part in enhancing an already successful primary care behavioral health integration program. In addition, to providing direct psychiatric clinical care he also helped create and implement the first-ever eConsult program between the behavioral health service line and multiple primary care clinics throughout the WellStar System, providing high-quality psychiatric recommendations to primary care providers and pediatricians, thereby increasing mental health care access.
Dr. Ayankola’s expertise has been featured in several media outlets, including Atlanta Medicine, STAT, and Atlanta News First. He is an active member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and he serves as a community faculty member at the Yale Child Study Center.