Dr. Karen Horst was born and raised in Houston, Texas.  She attended Yale University, majoring in philosophy with a focus on women's philosophy.   She attended Baylor College of Medicine for medical school, intending to become an obstetrician/gynecologist.  After two years of residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor, Dr. Horst followed her fascination with psychosomatic medicine by transferring to the psychiatry department and completing a residency in psychiatry. 

She completed training in psychoanalysis at the Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis and had a private practice in reproductive psychiatry in Boulder, Colorado for much of her career before returning to Houston in 2019 where she came full circle back to the Baylor Department of Ob/Gyn. Dr. Horst is medical director of The Women's Place and co-medical director of The Menopause Center at Texas Children's. She is also medical director of the Perinatal Psychiatric Access Network (PeriPAN).