Wellness Recovery Action Plan

Wellness Recovery Action Plan, and WRAP, are the registered trademarks for a recovery model developed by a group of people in northern, Vt in 1997 in a workshop on mental health recovery led by Mary Ellen Copeland. It has been extensively studied and is now an evidence-based practice, listed in the National Registry of Evidence Based Programs and Practices. It is a personal system for getting well and staying well that includes a crisis plan.

WRAP can be adapted for different situations and circumstances, including mental health recovery, dealing with the effects of trauma, addictions, diabetes and fibromyalgia. WRAP can be modified almost infinitely to meet specific needs, such as families, veterans, people with developmental distinction, youth and children. WRAP is often used with peer support.

WRAP focuses on a person's strengths, rather than perceived deficits. It gives people hope. IN WRAP groups all people are treated as equals, with dignity, compassion and respect. WRAP is voluntary and trauma informed. The key recovery concepts that guide the development of WRAP are hope, education, personal responsibility, support and self-advocacy. People develop their own WRAP. No one can develop a WRAP foremother person.

The first aspect of WRAP is developing a personal "Wellness Toolbox". This is a list of personal and individual resources for developing the recovery plan, such as support from a friend, eating healthy food, avoiding bars and exercise. Some people have over a hundred items listed in their Wellness Toolbox.

Plan structure

A wellness recovery action plan has six sections:

  1. A daily maintenance plan with three parts: a description themself when they are well, the wellness tools they know they need to use every day to maintain wellness, and a list of things they might need to do..
  2. A list of external events or triggers that might make the person feel worse—like an argument with a friend or getting a big bill—along with an action plan of wellness tools that can be used to get through these hard times.
  3. A list of the early warning signs, subtle internal signs that let a person know they are beginning to feel worse—like being unable to sleep or feelings of nervousness—along with an action plan for responding to these signs and to help the person feel better and avoid difficulties.
  4. A list of the signs that things are breaking down and the person is feeling much worse—like feeling sad all the time, or hearing voices—along with an action plan based on the wellness tools to help the person feel better and prevent an even more difficult time. Over time, this part of the plan has also become known as the part that people use to "Avoid a Crisis".
  5. Crisis plan or advance directive: A list of signs that let others know they need to take over responsibility for care and decision making including who takes over and supports through this time, health care information, a plan for staying at home through this time, things others can do that would help and things they might choose to do that would not be helpful. This kind of proactive advanced planning keeps the person in control even when it seems as though they are not.
  6. Post crisis plan: This part of the plan is thought out in advance of a crisis or as one begins to recover from the crisis—when there is a clearer picture of what needs to be done to get and stay well.

Facilitators

A WRAP facilitator is an individual who has been trained and certified to facilitate WRAP groups, groups where people learn how to develop a Wellness Recovery Action Plan. For information on becoming a WRAP facilitator, contact the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery. The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery was created to provide training in the Wellness Recovery Action Plan and certifies WRAP facilitators.

External links

mental health recovery

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