Dr. Tess M. Kilwein

03/05/2026

Excited to share that Beyond Averages: Uncovering Within-Person Links Between Sleep and Performance in Division I Collegiate Football Players has officially been published! 🎉

This project examined the daily, within-person relationship between sleep and athletic performance in NCAA Division I football players, using wearable technology to capture both sleep (ŌURA) and performance load (Catapult) during fall training camp. Rather than treating sleep and performance as static variables, we modeled how they influence each other day-to-day within the same athlete.

Sleep is often discussed as a recovery tool in sport, but the relationship between sleep and performance is dynamic and bidirectional. Understanding these daily fluctuations can help coaches, sport scientists, and clinicians make more informed decisions about training load, recovery, and athlete well-being.

Huge thanks to my collaborators and the Vanderbilt University football student-athletes who made this work possible!

📄 Read the article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02701367.2025.2608371

A robust body of research links greater sleep duration and quality to improved athletic performance and competitive outcomes. However, many athletes, particularly collegiate football players, strug...

03/03/2026

Had a blast spending the evening with the University of Minnesota Morris Women's Softball Team promoting an affirming team culture!

Softball has higher rates of LGBTQ+ identity than the general population, and this team competes on the historic grounds of the Morris Industrial School for Indians, important contexts we held in mind throughout our time together.

Inclusion is a PERFORMANCE variable. When athletes are scanning for threats against their identity, they are not focused on the game. Team inclusion frees mental bandwidth that athletes need to compete fully.

This conversation was about competitive advantage as much as culture!

Thank you Coach Pennie-Roy and Director of Counseling Jeanne Williamson for inviting me to spend some time with your student-athletes and your overall investment in developing an affirming team culture.

Roll Cougs! 🐆

02/27/2026

So excited to share this one. This image perfectly captures the energy between Tariko Satterfield Sr and I on the XPOSURE Talks Podcast: joy, vulnerability, and the kind of conversation where I (literally) forgot that the microphones were even on.

We explored what it means to build identity rooted in greatness. What happens when mental health and performance work shifts from “what’s wrong?” to “what’s possible?” We talked about the intersection of spiritual principles and identity development, the process of unlearning and relearning, and why protecting athletes means developing character just as intentionally as we develop talent.

Athletes deserve systems that see them as whole humans. The future of mental health in athletics must include identity-based work and deeper collaboration (vs. competition) between professional disciplines.

Give it a listen here:

The conversation delves into the importance of understanding and nurturing one's identity, rooted in greatness. It explores the journey to self-discovery, th...

02/24/2026

What Does “Healthy Love” Actually Mean in 2026?

Had the privilege of presenting Building Healthy Love: Navigating the Modern Relationship for Pineapple Support.

We talked about the real foundations of strong relationships: open communication, explicit consent, and clear & flexible boundaries. The skills that make both monogamous and consensually non-monogamous relationships work.

Healthy relationships are about intentionality. They require emotional literacy, self-awareness, and the willingness to repair when things get messy.

Love is a skill set!

Grateful to engage with a community that values psychological safety, autonomy, and empowered connection!

🔗

Lead by: Tess KilweinWhat does it mean to have a "healthy" relationship? In this webinar, Dr. Kilwein will discuss how open communication, consent, and appro...

02/22/2026

The American Psychological Association Council of Representatives meeting in DC has concluded. APA President Dr. Wendi Williams issued a Presidential Citation to my rural health colleagues and I for our leadership in advocating for rural communities and strengthening rural behavioral health systems.

Important actions taken at the meeting:

✡️ Passing a 2026 Resolution on Antisemitism
🇵🇸 Commitment to Human Rights and Free Speech
🌪️ Integrating Psych Science into Natural Disaster Response
🌾 Expanding Access to Mental Healthcare in Rural Communities
🌎 Integrating Global Perspectives in Psychology
📚 Promoting Comprehensive Sexual Health Education
🏥 Passing a Revised Resolution on Palliative Care

🔗 You can review the full council meeting summary here: https://lnkd.in/exx_s5zX

Most importantly, I had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, both old and new, who are dedicated to the role and responsibility that psychological science plays in protecting human rights. It is an honor and a privilege to be in this fight alongside you. ✊🏽

Thank you to Division 44: Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity for trusting me as your representative. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍🌈

02/20/2026

This morning, I presented a resolution to reaffirm the American Psychological Association (APA)'s commitment to justice, human rights, fairness, and dignity for underserved rural communities across the United States to the APA Council of Representatives. Rural communities are diverse, experience distinct behavioral and physical health needs compared with urban populations, and face unique barriers to timely, effective, and culturally responsive care.

I am proud to share that The APA Council of Representatives has officially adopt the Resolution on Prioritizing the Behavioral Health Needs of Rural Communities as APA policy!

02/19/2026

Proud to serve as part of Team Ten (Tennessee) during the American Psychological Association Council Hill Day 2026 alongside Mary Payne and Julio Abreu.

Each state delegation met with congressional offices to advocate for:
• Federal funding for social and behavioral science research
• Ensuring psychology has a role in scientific and ethical AI development
• Strengthening and expanding the psychology workforce pipeline

We met with the offices of Bill Hagerty, Andrew Ogles, and Matt Van Epps to discuss how federal policy directly impacts access to care, research innovation, and ethical technology development.

Grateful for for colleagues who show up ready to translate science into policy in the spaces that it matters most!

02/18/2026

Back on the road! Heading to DC for the American Psychological Association (APA)’s Capital Hill Day to represent broader psychological interests, followed by the APA Council of Representatives meeting representing APA Division 44: Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

While on the Hill, I’ll be meeting with Tennessee legislators to advocate for two timely priorities in our field:
• Expanding Medicare reimbursement to include services provided by supervised psychological trainees (interns and residents) to strengthen the behavioral health workforce and improve access to care.
• Sustained funding for the NIH and NSF to support research on the ethical and scientific use of AI in mental health.

The Council of Representatives agenda is packed! I’ll be introducing a Resolution on Prioritizing Behavioral Health Needs of Rural Communities on behalf of the APA Committee on Rural Health. The Council will also be discussing items related to s*xual health education; major disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; and promoting global perspectives in psychology.

Looking forward to thoughtful dialogue and meaningful progress on issues that directly impact access, equity, and the future of our profession.

Ask me how to get involved in advocacy!

02/17/2026

What an incredible time at the Clinical/Counseling Sport Psychology Association's 2026 Big Sky Conference in Austin, TX.

Serving on the CCSPA Advisory Board and helping plan this conference alongside some true powerhouses in our field has been a professional highlight. These are brilliant sport psychology leaders in our field and, just as importantly, people who find a way to maintain laughter, joy, and the ability to tease each other incessantly through it all.

Extra meaningful was facilitating a presentation on Multicultural Case Studies in Sport: Supporting Marginalized Athletes in the Current Sociopolitical Climate with colleagues I continue to learn from every day. Marcia L. Edwards, Psy.D., Aaron Goodson, Mac A. Brown, PsyD, CMPC, KC Cross, Weston Durham PhD, & Eryn DeLaney, Ph.D, LP are doing extraordinary work with collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes while actively holding space for identities that are too often politicized, erased, or attacked in sport and society.

And yes, I would be remiss not to mention introducing a group of sport psychologists to my favorite sport: pickleball. Watching a room full of mental performance professionals become fiercely competitive over a plastic ball was one of the weekend's highlights!

Grateful for this community and looking forward to continued work throughout the year!

02/05/2026

Unapologetic Psychology honors Black History Month by recognizing the brilliance, resistance, and care of Black communities across generations. We especially uplift Black q***r people, athletes, performers, and culture-makers whose labor, visibility, and survival have shaped how our practice understands identity, expression, healing, and joy.

Black history is not separate from mental health, performance, or liberation. It lives in the bodies, voices, movements, and relationships of Black people who continue to imagine and create freer futures. We honor that legacy and commit to showing up for it year-round.

02/02/2026

Unapologetic Psychology's February Newsletter is out! This month, we cover:
• Unapologetic Psychology's Mental Health & Performance Service Offerings
• Dr. Kilwein joins the Feisty Media's Women’s Performance Podcast
• When Grief Enters the Locker Room via Psychology Today
• Burned Out? Finding Balance in Hustle Culture via Pineapple Support

Updates from Unapologetic Psychology

02/01/2026

It’s been a great past few days at the .nmcs meeting with fellow executive members of . I’m looking forward to representing the interests of LGBTQIA2S+ psychologists, affiliates, and patients at the American Psychological Association’s governance level during my three-year term as Council Representative. 🩵🩷🤍