Spalding University School of Professional Psychology Assistant Professor Dr. Steven Kniffley was recently honored by Louisville Business First with inclusion on its 2020 list of Forty Under 40 – recognizing a group of the city’s most outstanding and promising young professionals who excel both in their careers and in service.
The 35-year-old Kniffley serves as Associate Director of Spalding’s Center for Behavioral Health while leading the Collective Care Center, which is a specialty clinic within the CBH that specializes in treating race-based stress and trauma. The CCC is the only behavioral health clinic in Louisville – and one of only a few in the nation – with a focus on racial trauma.
At a moment when the nation has been focused on issues related to racism and social injustice, Kniffley has established himself one of Louisville’s leading experts on race-based trauma.
He is a frequent public speaker who has led dozens of seminars and talks on the issue this year, and through his work with the Collective Care Center, he has helped assess and treat victims of race-based trauma. Since June, about 400 clinicians, including ones in
Kniffley is an alum of Spalding’s Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) in Clinical Psychology program, of which he is now a faculty member.
In a Q&A with Louisville Business First, Kniffley was asked why he is deserving of being a Forty under 40 honoree.
He responded: “I am an innovative, courageous and committed leader willing to leverage my time, talent and resources to uplift marginalized communities and create spaces of healing for the oppressed. This is reflected in my work as an assistant professor, where I mentor, educate and train the next generation of culturally humble psychologists to work with diverse and underserved populations; (and) in my work as an associate director for our community-based mental health center with a mission of providing affordable and compassionate care.”
Kniffley said his work as coordinator of the Collective Care Center reflects his belief “that access to mental health services is a social justice issue.”
Kniffley was recently interviewed by the Frazier History Museum about a range of topics related to racial trauma. You can watch the interview below or on YouTube.