Dr. Karena Heyward completed her B.S. In Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and received her M.Ed. in Marriage and Family Counseling from the College of William & Mary. Her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision was earned from the College of William & Mary. 

Dr. Heyward engages in continued scholarship, presenting at the state, regional, and national levels. Her scholarship interests include body psychotherapy and somatic counseling, transpersonal psychology, liberation psychology, sexuality counseling, and anti-racism and anti-oppression in counselor education, and counselor development. 

Before joining academia, Dr. Heyward worked in various community agencies seeing couples, families, and individual clients with a variety of presenting issues. She worked as the co-director of a university-based marriage, couple, and family counseling center. Dr. Heyward opened a private practice in January of 2020 where she holds space for Black and/or Queer people with a variety of presenting issues that are related to oppression-based trauma. Her approach to counseling with these individuals is based in Somatic Psychotherapy, Polyvagal Theory, and Liberation Psychology.