Dr. Kalyani Gopal, PhD, HSPP (President/Founder SAFECHR)

Dr. Gopal is a keynote and international speaker and trainer on foster care and adoption, sex-trafficking, human trafficking, child sexual abuse, Autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, and psychopathology. She has trained foster parents, adoptive parents, administrators, judges, FBI, police officers, attorneys, case managers, nonprofits, and clergy on issues related to infants, children, adolescents and adults. She has coined the term “Displacement Trauma” to describe the complex trauma caused by frequent disruptions of attachment bonds. She is the bestselling author of “The Supportive Foster Parent”, “Foster Parenting Step-by-Step”, the grief and loss workbook “In My Heart” and workbook on child sexual abuse and co-editor of the upcoming Springer publication, “Sex Trafficking: Feminist and Transnational Perspectives.” She is on the boards of the Lake County Child Protection Team and Lake County Child Fatality Team, serves as the Chair for the Illinois Psychological Association’s Working Committee on Hate and Harassment, Chair of the IPA Women’s Section, Chair of the Regional Human Trafficking Taskforce of NW Indiana, served as President of Section IV, Division 12, American Psychological Association (2012-2014), and is currently serving on the Board of Directors, Society of Clinical Psychology, American Psychological Association. . Dr Gopal is President, Illinois Psychological Association. She is also the President of Mid-America Psychological and Counseling Services, PC and manages six mental health clinics in Indiana and Illinois. Dr Gopal chairs the SAFE Conferences and has hosted SAFE 2014 in Chicago, SAFE 2016 in DC/VA, SAFE 2018 in Chicago, and hosting SAFE 2019 in Chicago bringing together organizations from around the globe working ceaselessly to form collaborative national and international coalitions from rescue to rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking and violations of human rights. In recognition of her work, Dr Gopal was awarded the Lake County Award for Excellence in 2004 and Indiana Attorney General’s Voices for Victims Award in 2015 and the 2019 Top 20 Global Women of Excellence United States Congressional Medal of Honor and the Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award Honorable Mention in August 2019.