Meet Dr. Polo DeCano

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Polo DeCano. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Dr. Polo, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I found my purpose through the realization that my childhood dreams were unattainable. However sad that may sound, that realization was coupled with an important recognition that has served as a distinct sense of purpose since I was 15 years old. My aspiration of being a professional athlete was unattainable because of a predisposition for dislocating my patella. The first time I subluxated my patella was in middle school (my left), which was more of an inconvenience that I worked through and did the physical therapy to recover from. Then there was a full dislocation of the patella that was more discouraging (my left again). After a full dislocation of the other patella (my right this time) and another subluxation of my left patella, whatever talent and ability I had as a baseball player or soccer player was irrelevant to count on as a future. As I accepted this reality, I observed that some athletes who didn’t have physical barriers to competing at that level, and indeed who had achieved status and success as professional athletes, failed to enjoy long careers as professionals–or for some collegiate athletes to reach the professional ranks–because of issues related to mental and behavioral health. From that point forward I was always thinking about or seeking an education that would prepare me to serve athletes in their mental health and wellness overall.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My current role is as the Wellness Services Coordinator for Student Athletes at the University of Washington. In many ways, this is my dream job. To be a part of a community that I have admired my whole life as a native Seattle-ite and UW Alum, and to serve these young people in the way that I sought to from the age of 15 is amazing. My graduate education includes an M.A. in Kinesiology (Youth and Moral Development through Sport) and a Ph.D. in School Psychology with a focus on Resilience. While these degrees may seem like an odd fit, they are perfect for the work I do. My School Psychology training at the University of Washington included supporting wellness in systems. Athletics spaces (e.g., teams, leagues, departments, conferences) are systems. The program also maintained a lens of prevention for supporting student learning and minimizing the occurrence of barriers from arising to best ensure students could access their education. From the standpoint of prevention of mental illness and the promotion of mental health, this is where the construct of resilience arose in my life. From my literature review, I developed an expertise on what elements in people’s lives contribute to their experience of resilience and created a resilience framework (The A.P.T. Resilience Framework) that now guides my thinking about the subject. Not surprisingly, theories and concepts that I learned during my M.A. education in Kinesiology are represented in the APT Framework. I worked with one of the program faculty (Dr. Clayton Cook) to create a course that was initially offered in conjunction with a class that was held near the athletics facilities and taught by the UW Sport Psychologist at the time before becoming a standalone course for resilience. That class is now a staple in the UW College of Education wherein the APT Framework is overlayed with DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) Skills. While the class no longer focuses on athletes as a population to the degree it did when I taught it, it has reached many thousands of college-aged young people during a pivotal time in their life and who will benefit from knowing what contributes to their experience of resilience and developing skills to navigate their stressors.
In addition to the Resilience in College course I created during my Doctoral work, I was given an opportunity to create and teach a class within a M.Ed. program for Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership (IAL) offered through the Center for Leadership in Athletics in UW’s College of Education. The Center and IAL M.Ed. are exceptional resources for high quality and innovative education in sport and higher education. Roughly 10 years ago, they created a strand of courses that were tailored to existing and aspiring collegiate coaches. Included in that strand of courses was a new class that I co-created with Dr. Cook—Team and Athlete Wellness. This class afforded me the opportunity to utilize what amounted to a train-the-trainer model because these coaches could take the course content and directly apply it to their work with athletes. While I wasn’t directly supporting young peoples’ wellness as a “Counseling Sport Psychologist” like I had initially imagined, I was absolutely promoting their health and wellness by ensuring their coaches have the knowledge to optimize their healthy development as people and best ensure they grow optimally as athletes.
After completing my Doctorate, and before my current role, I worked for Seattle Public Schools as a part of their Restorative Practices Program team. That time was integral to strengthening my skills in navigating a range of difficult hierarchical circumstances, improving my ability to advocate for equity and engage in discussions about racism, and growing in my awareness regarding relationship-building and restorative practices.
Collectively, from my initial conceptualization about supporting mental health in athletics, through my education, and opportunities to teach and learn, the whole of my life’s work has been around the values of serving others, equity, and promoting wellness and harmony where and when I can. Now, in my current role, I’ve been able to use the APT Framework to anchor the Wellness aspect of our Mental Health, Wellness and Performance Program in UW Athletics. We draw the distinction for student athletes and the department that mental illness is not the opposite of mental health. Just because you are without a mental illness, does not mean you enjoy mental health. One can be low in their mental illness—even without a diagnosable condition—but may be languishing because they are not sleeping, exercising, socializing positively or eating well. One can also have a mental illness diagnosis with pronounced symptoms, and they may be eating well, exercising regularly, sleeping well, connecting with their care team as needed (e.g., therapist, medical doctor, other) and they can be mentally healthy living with a diagnosis of mental illness. So, for us, we emphasize to these young people that their mental illness is less of the issue. The real issue is, what are you doing to support and promote your mental health? Our hope is this knowledge will reduce the stigma that may exist around engaging mental health supports, and they will put forth effort to actively promote their mental health.

It’s so exciting to me to be able to reach these young people at such an important developmental time in their lives. They’re old enough to recognize they don’t know everything and will likely have made meaningful mistakes. They’re therefore more receptive to non-parent adults. But they’re young enough that changes in how they think and in what they do behaviorally have the potential to last because of the neuroplasticity that’s available until humans are around 25 years old.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One of the most important skills that I turned to for my journey was my ability to reframe when the circumstances differ from what I anticipated—so psychological flexibility. There were many times throughout my journey when I was discouraged or overwhelmed or even questioned how this would come together. To my mind, it was a novel and niche role I aspired to, and my approach was unconventional, so being confronted with unexpected twists and inconvenient turns was something I had to adapt to. I definitely intended to have a pretty direct journey once I started my graduate education, but that was only experienced in how unwavering my sense of purpose was. Most all other aspects of my journey have included unexpected elements. Failed admissions, retaking entrance exams, changing dissertation emphases, transferring midway through my M.A., opting to get a School Psychology education that necessitated a 2nd graduate degree after an M.A. and before a Ph.D. were all examples of things I didn’t expect. They all mattered because I learned from each twist and grew from each turn, and the timing was just as it needed to be.

This leads to the second very important reminder/skill/area of knowledge: we’re all in a process. All these twists and turns are major let downs and sources of massive disappointment that can be difficult to overcome unless they’re embedded in a process. Accepted as a part of the journey. Had I viewed them as a reflection of my ultimate capability for what I aspired to, I would have quit a long time ago. Instead, I saw them as just something that was a part of the bigger picture. Now, they serve as references from which to share perspective, to model “failure” (I always say, Failure is Feedback), and to incorporate when needed to minimize unnecessary hardship. When our shortcomings are viewed as a reflection of our permanent capability to do something…to achieve, that’s a daunting weight given to almost everything that we do that is meaningful to us. If, however, we view those same shortcomings as a reflection of where we are and it informs how we continue in our endeavors, they become wisdom.

A final important awareness for me through everything, was a strong sense of purpose. When I reference a sense of purpose, I’m accounting for how our goals and values are connected. My values of equity, serving others, and promoting wellness and harmony are all connected to my goal of supporting mental health in athletics. Despite there being little attention given to mental health supports as having a place in athletics in the last few decades, I knew this population was being underserved in this regard. I knew that supporting their wellness would translate to improved lives, and if these athletes (who I also recognized as having a stature in society as a role model,) can benefit from mental health supports, they could help increase the likelihood that people who look up to them may engage in wellness supports they may need, but would otherwise be reluctant to seek had there not been a role model.

Through all of this, there were supportive others who I was fortunate to be connected with. Dear family, dear friends and loved ones, mentors, co-workers, mentees, all of what I’ve referenced is diminished and may not be achieved without the healthy attachments and relationships with supportive others. Being intentional about cultivating and honoring those relationships, and about being psychologically flexible, embedded in a process, and clear about your sense of purpose can go a long way to someone realizing their dreams.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I feel overwhelmed, the first thing I do is notice–I sit with it. (All within a matter of seconds) I notice my somatic experience (e.g., butterflies in the belly, ringing in the ears, clenching my teeth); I notice my cognitive experience (e.g., irritability, racing thoughts, inability to focus, doubt/dip in confidence) and then I take a deeper-than-usual breath, followed by a very intentional slow inhale and even slower exhale (to reverse the stress response). Then, I talk through what may be the issue (either aloud to myself or in my head–sometimes I write it down). Then, I will break the matter down into manageable pieces and make a plan, also, I’ll embrace the stress response as my body preparing itself for a challenge, and, if it’s at all feasible, I’ll smile and clap my hands so I can jump into whatever needs doing. I remember I’m in a process and…at the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world. (Unless it is the end of the world, in which case what I’m overwhelmed by no longer matters.).

Being intentional about noticing your breathing and slowing it such that your exhale is longer than your inhale can undo the stress response, allowing for your prefrontal cortex to engage fully. Having a positive stress mindset, in part, is when you interpret your stress response as preparing you for a challenge. This has a biological impact wherein your body mimics preparing for a challenge rather than operating from a place of fear. Reminding yourself of this trick can tremendously effective.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: uw_huskiesmentalhealth
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/aptresiliencepolodecano
• Other: Foster School of Business: Conversations on Careers Podcast
  Discussing Gratitude, Resilience and Stress with Polo DeCano
  https://conversationsoncareers.com/2018/11/discussing-gratitude-resilience-and-stress-with-polo-decano/

Image Credits

Unknown Student-Athlete (Human before Athlete, You Are Enough)

Heather Tarr (Team Mindfulness)