Psychologist | Human Rights Advocate | Author | UN Leader
Dr. Kalyani Gopal, PhD is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and president of the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations whose career spans foster care, human trafficking, child trauma, and global mental health policy across six continents. She coined the term "Displacement Trauma" and has trained the FBI, the Secret Service, judges, and governments on protecting the world's most vulnerable people.
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A Career Built on the Hardest Problems
Dr. Kalyani Gopal, PhD began her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University and earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Alliant University in San Diego. That foundation grew into four decades of frontline clinical work and policy influence. She has written five books, developed the first internationally accredited psychologically based training program in human trafficking, and built victim-identification tools used in Ukraine and Myanmar. By 2024 she was overseeing six mental health clinics across Indiana and Illinois while serving a second term as PCUN President at the United Nations.
From a Shelter Bed to a Village in India
In 2014, Dr. Gopal founded SAFE Coalition for Human Rights to move survivors of trafficking from rescue all the way to rebuilt lives. That mission is now concrete: a therapeutic shelter in Indiana is scaling from its current beds toward a 40-bed home, and she is building a restorative healing center in India while adopting four remote villages where girls face the highest risk. She measures success simply: watching a woman go from victim to survivor to a purpose-driven life.
