Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Silva-Breen.
Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you! My name is Hannah Silva-Breen, and I am a current PhD student in sport psychology and MA student in clinical mental health counseling at West Virginia University. Additionally, I conduct research, and provide mental performance consulting services to collegiate and high school athletes. I have a passion for equity and mental health in sport and strive to make positive change in sport. However, I was not initially born with that passion. All the strong, extraordinary women leaders inspired me to pursue my dreams and try to change the world. I worked as an intern for the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport under the guidance of Dr. Nicole LaVoi and learned invaluable skills and how to be a confident woman, leader, and speaker. During my time at the Tucker Center, I had the opportunity to participate in incredible projects such as CoachingHer, Body Confident Sport, and the Women College Coaching Report Card. I saw firsthand these projects’ positive impact and they inspired to me to continue in my education, research, and teaching journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Being a woman in the sports world is never easy, especially now with social media. I’ve personally experienced sexism and homophobia and witness racism and transphobia often. Further, the work seemingly never stops, and burnout can be exhausting on top of these barriers. On top of advocacy and allyship, I’ve had to learn to practice holistic self-care and ask for help when needed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I wear many hats in my current role at West Virginia University. I teach undergraduate sport psychology courses, I am a mental performance consultant, I am a researcher, and I am a student myself. With my mental performance work, I help individual athletes and teams perform at their best, tackle challenges, and gain confidence. I’m also working towards a degree in counseling and bringing those skills into my counseling work. Within my research, I specialize in body image, eating disorders, and weight bias in sports. My research is one area that I am most proud of and believe is where I can make the most positive change. I aim to help make sports a safer and more supportive place by supporting athlete body image and reducing the likelihood of eating disorders by busting the myths around weight, health, and performance to dismantle weight bias.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahsilvabreen
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-silva-breen/
