Dr. Tess M. Kilwein

07/29/2026

Check out How Sports Friendships Can Protect Mental Health: How Kevin Love’s story shows why teammates and close friends can be life-saving.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-the-trenches/202605/how-sports-friendships-can-protect-mental-health

We're excited to see AASP members and leaders featured in recent media, sharing their expertise on topics ranging from marathon training to running performance and athlete mental health.

Recent articles include a Women's Health feature highlighting AASP President Hillary Cauthen's insights on why adaptability, rather than perfection, is key to marathon success, a Runner's World piece by AASP Member Michael Gross exploring how overthinking can interfere with running performance, and a Psychology Today article featuring AASP Member Tess Kilwein on how sports friendships can protect mental health, inspired by NBA star Kevin Love's experiences.

Visit the Members in the News page to read more articles featuring AASP members: https://bit.ly/AASP-MemsintheNews

07/29/2026

When does biology become a story about destiny?

Biological differences exist. The question is how we make sense of them.

History reminds us that people have repeatedly used biology to explain who is capable, who belongs, and whose potential should be taken seriously. Many of those assumptions later proved to be incomplete, biased, or simply wrong.

Performance has never emerged from biology alone. It is shaped by relationships, opportunities, environments, resources, and the stories societies tell about human ability.

This is one reason conversations about transgender athletes, fairness, and participation are often much larger than debates about physiology. They are also conversations about values, belonging, and what kinds of communities sport is trying to create.

07/27/2026

One of the most powerful things culture does is make certain ideas feel natural.

Not because they are objectively true, but because we have encountered them so many times that we stop noticing them.

Ideas about who looks athletic, who looks capable, who looks like a leader, and who looks like they belong often work this way.

The challenge is not simply identifying those assumptions.

It is noticing how they shape our attention, our expectations, and the opportunities we offer other people.

Because potential is easier to develop when someone recognizes it in the first place.

07/25/2026

Fitness is often framed as a personal project of self-improvement: becoming stronger, leaner, faster, or more productive. Yet movement has always been about more than changing the body. Across cultures and throughout history, people have moved to work, play, gather, care for one another, participate in community life, and adapt to changing circumstances.

When we widen our understanding of movement, it becomes easier to recognize that its value is not limited to performance or physical transformation. For many people, movement is also a way of maintaining independence, staying connected to others, navigating illness or disability, and continuing to participate in the activities and relationships that make life meaningful.

07/24/2026

Success stories are often told through outcomes.

Scholarships, championships, promotions, leadership roles.

What those stories sometimes leave out are the transitions, trade-offs, and relationships that shaped the journey.

Understanding those parts of the story doesn't diminish achievement. It helps us appreciate it more fully.

07/22/2026

Why does a walk with a friend often feel different from a walk alone?

Maybe because movement has never been entirely individual.

For most of human history, people moved together. They walked, worked, danced, played, and gathered in community.

So it makes sense that many people stay for reasons that extend beyond fitness. A running club, sports team, or exercise class can become part of the rhythm of someone's life, a place where people know your name and notice when you aren't there.

Sometimes what keeps people coming back is the feeling that they're doing something alongside other people.

🔗 Read Dr. Tess Kilwein's full article through the link in our bio.

07/19/2026

Who are you when you can't perform in the same way anymore?

For many high achievers, injury, burnout, and transition don't only disrupt performance. They disrupt identity.

Because when a role has shaped your purpose, relationships, and sense of self for years, stepping away from it can feel existential.

Eventually, everyone encounters seasons of uncertainty and change.

Caring deeply about achievement and remembering that you are larger than any single role can exist at the same time.

07/18/2026

When I first became involved in APA leadership, I wasn't thinking about running for the Board of Directors.

Over time, conversations with mentors, colleagues, trainees, and community members encouraged me to think more deeply about how I could contribute to the future of our profession.

Today, I'm honored to be a candidate for the APA Board of Directors as an Early Career Psychologist.

I believe psychology needs leadership that remains connected to the realities of practice, responsive to the communities we serve, and willing to engage the challenges shaping our future.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.
Election opens August 3. Learn more about my campaign through the link in our bio.

07/17/2026

Why does sport bring people together?

Part of the answer may be that sport gives people something increasingly rare: a shared emotional experience.

For a little while, strangers find themselves caring about the same story, celebrating the same moments, and grieving the same losses.

In a world that often feels fragmented, those moments matter. They remind us that community is still possible.

Read Dr. Tess Kilwein's latest Psychology Today article, Why Sport Brings People Together. 🏀⚽💙

🔗 Link in bio.

07/16/2026

Grateful to receive endorsements from the following APA Council of Representatives Caucus Groups in support of my campaign for the APA Board of Directors:

🌍 Culture, Ethnicity, & Justice
👥 Men & Boys
🧠 Association for Practicing Psychologists

https://lnkd.in/gU3JCEw2