Today we’d like to introduce you to Akia Grace Wade, M.Psy..
Hi akia grace, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My path into this work began early. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, I saw firsthand how relationships and community can change lives. As a teenager, I encouraged my mom and grandparents to become foster parents, and watching children thrive in a stable, loving environment shaped my understanding of care, connection, and chosen family.
That foundation followed me across the country when I moved to Washington, DC to attend Howard University, where I studied Psychology and Sociology. The combination of academic training and cultural grounding helped me understand the intersection of psychology, identity, and community in a deeper way. My career path since then has included work in group therapy practices, oncology support at Georgetown’s Lombardi Cancer Center, and graduate training at The George Washington University. These experiences sharpened my ability to hold space during life’s most vulnerable moments.
At the same time, my own life made this work personal. I married in my mid-twenties, divorced, did extensive inner work, and eventually came out later in life. That blend of clinical training and lived experience made it impossible to ignore how often high-achieving women are doing everything “right” on paper while still feeling disconnected or unsatisfied in their relationships.
Today, my work lives at the intersection of therapy, wellness, and love. I offer psychotherapy, relationship wellness consulting, founded The Luv Knots, a boutique matchmaking company for Black women who love women, and created PsychSocial, a community for mental health professionals centered on play and connection. Everything I do is grounded in the same belief: healing happens in relationship. My focus is helping people slow down, get honest with themselves, and build relationships that are intentional, sustainable, and deeply aligned.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road hasn’t been smooth, but it has been deeply instructive. One of the biggest challenges has been unlearning the belief that success requires constant output. In a culture that rewards overextension, learning how to build in ways that support my well-being while serving others has taken real intention and discipline.
As a Black, queer woman navigating systems that often demand more labor for less margin, I’ve had to be especially mindful about boundaries. Protecting my nervous system, honoring rest, and maintaining ethical integrity have been just as important as any professional milestone.
Over time, I’ve learned that wellness isn’t something separate from my work; it’s the foundation of it. Building businesses that prioritize balance, sustainability, and long-term health has been both one of the greatest challenges and one of the most meaningful rewards.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My work is rooted in helping women build healthier, more intentional relationships with themselves and others. It lives at the intersection of psychotherapy, wellness, and love, and is grounded in the belief that healing happens in relationship.
I’m a psychotherapist by training, and that clinical foundation informs everything I do. In addition to therapy, I offer relationship wellness consulting for women who want clarity, balance, and growth without entering clinical care. I’m also the founder of The Luv Knots, a boutique matchmaking company for Black women who love women and are seeking emotionally mature, conscious partnerships. I specialize in helping women slow down, become more discerning, and move away from urgency-driven dating. The Luv Knots doesn’t treat dating as a numbers game or a shortcut to partnership. Instead, the work centers readiness, alignment, and how relationships are actually built and sustained over time.
What sets the brand apart is its depth and structure. In addition to individual matchmaking and dating coaching, I’m known for creating matchmaking-informed dating experiences that are thoughtfully facilitated, psychologically attuned, and designed to support meaningful connection rather than surface-level interaction. These experiences prioritize emotional safety, pacing, and presence, not performance or pressure.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud of the restraint and integrity behind how The Luv Knots operates. We move slowly, protect emotional safety, and are intentional about who we serve. In a dating culture that prioritizes speed, visibility, and constant access, The Luv Knots stands for discernment, sustainability, and depth.
What I want readers to know is that this work goes beyond finding a partner. It focuses on changing how people relate to themselves, to dating, and to partnership in ways that support shared, conscious, and lasting connection.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy is creating spaces where real connection can happen.
I often describe myself as a connection curator because so much of what I do, across different spaces, centers on helping people connect more deeply and intentionally. I’ve shared with friends that I can literally sit on the sidelines and watch the people I’ve gathered mix, mingle, and connect, and it makes my heart so full. There’s something deeply grounding about bringing the right people together and then stepping back to let connection unfold.
Across my work in PsychSocial, dating experiences, matchmaking, and psychodynamic psychotherapy, the common thread is connection. Sometimes that connection happens between two people meeting for the first time. Sometimes it’s between professionals finding community. And sometimes it’s the internal connection people make when they begin to understand how their past is showing up in their present relationships.
At this stage of my life, happiness looks like witnessing those moments of recognition, ease, and aliveness. It’s knowing that the spaces I create allow people to feel seen, emotionally safe, and a little less alone, and that I get to do that work with care, intention, and integrity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theluvknots.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theluvknots/
- Other: https://www.akiagrace.com/
