Steven D. Kniffley Jr. is the Associate Director for the Center for Behavioral Health and an Assistant Professor in Spalding University’s School of Professional Psychology. He is also the coordinator for the Collective Care Center which is one of the few racial trauma clinics in the country. Steven received his doctorate and master’s degree in clinical psychology from Spalding University where he specialized in child, adolescent, and family therapy. Steven completed his post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He also has a Master’s in Public administration from Wright State University.

Steven's area of expertise is research and clinical work with Black males. Specifically, his work focuses on understanding and developing culturally appropriate interventions for Black male psychopathology as well as barriers to academic success for this population.

Additionally, Steven conducts research and clinical work on the challenges related to the experience of racial trauma. Specifically, he has developed a treatment protocol for the experience of racial trauma and train clinicians in the implementation of the protocol.

As an educational consultant, Steven has worked internationally with students and school administrators in South Africa and India. He also serves as an organizational diversity consultant and work with law enforcement departments on addressing conflicts between communities of color and police officers.

Some of Steven's books and works in progress include: “Knowledge of Self: Understanding the Mind of the Black male,”  “Out of KOS (Knowledge of Self): Black male psychopathology and its treatment, ” and “Black males and the Criminal Justice System.”