Wellness Recovery Action Plan:
Overview
Presented by Katie Wilson, M.S.
Director of Marketing & Special Projects
The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery
June 2, 2010
Key Concepts
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Hope
Personal Responsibility
Education
Self-Advocacy
Support
There is Much to Hope For!
• You can get well and stay well for long
periods of time!
• You can work toward and meet your goals
• You don’t need nor will you benefit from
dire predictions about the future
Personal Responsibility
• You are the expert on yourself.
• You know what you want and need.
• It is up to you to take personal
responsibility for your own wellness and
your own life.
Education
• Learn all you can about yourself so that you can
make good decisions about:
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Treatment
Lifestyle
Career
Relationships
Living Space
Leisure Activities
All Aspects of Your Life
Self Advocacy
• Go for it with courage, persistence, and
determination;
• Express yourself clearly and calmly until
you get what you need for yourself
Support
• Support from family, friends, and care
providers is definitely helpful. Being
effectively supported will help you feel
better and enrich your life.
• You will benefit from having at least 5 good
friends or supporters you can call on when
you want or need . . . .
WRAP
• Will help you stay as well as possible
• Help you keep track of difficult feelings and
behaviors and develop plans of action to
help you feel better
• Tell others what to do for you when you feel
so badly you can’t make decisions, take care
of yourself, and keep yourself safe
WRAP
You and only you decide:
• If you want to write a WRAP
• How much time it takes you
• Who you want, if anyone, to help you with it
• How you use it
• Who you show it to
• Where you keep it
WRAP
To develop your own Wellness Recovery
Action Plan begin by developing a list of
personal
WELLNESS TOOLS
Wellness Tools
• Wellness tools are things you do to keep
yourself well, and the things you do to help
yourself feel better when you are not feeling
well.
Wellness Tools
• You may have discovered them yourself or
learned about them from others.
• Most of them are simple, safe, free and noninvasive.
Wellness Tools
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Exercise
Light
Relaxation Techniques
Peer counseling
Journaling
Video Chatting with friends
Eating a healthy meal
Anything you enjoy
Daily Maintenance List
Write down how you feel when you feel well.
Daily Maintenance List
Some words that others have used:
Bright
Outgoing
Humorous
Athletic
Content
Reasonable
Happy
Optimistic
Competent
Industries
Responsible
Withdrawn
Daily Maintenance List
You may also want to include on this page any
specific things you want to work in your
WRAP like:
• Building Your Self-Esteem
• Going Back to Work
• Getting a Different Jobs
• Any goal you want to work on
Daily Maintenance List
Make a list of things you need to do for
yourself every day to keep feeling well
Daily Maintenance List
Be specific:
• Get up at 7am on weekdays so I can get to
work on time
• Go for a walk
• Write in a journal
• Spend half an hour enjoying a fun,
affirming creative activity
• Drink 5 glasses of water
Daily Maintenance List
• Next make a reminder list for things you
might choose or need to do any day.
• Reading through this list daily and doing
those things that need to be done reduces
stress in your life and helps keep you on
track
Daily Maintenance List
• Ideas of things that might be included on
this list are:
• Calling your counselor
• Being in touch with family
• Doing the laundry
• Paying bills
• Taking a hot bubble bath
Triggers
• External events or circumstances may make
you feel like you are getting ill.
• These are normal reactions to life events but if you don’t respond to them, they may
actually make you feel worse.
Triggers
Examples:
• Problems at work
• Financial problems - a big bill
• Feeling left out
• Anniversary of a loss or trauma
• People shouting
• Having to talk to someone I don’t know
Triggers Action Plan
• After your list of Triggers, develop a plan
that you feel will keep you from feeling
worse if a triggering event occurs.
Triggers Action Plan
Sample Plan:
• Get one thing done that I know I can do
well
• Talk to a supporter
• Play my guitar for an hour
• Do a breathing exercise
• Make sure I do everything on my daily
maintenance list
Early Warning Signs
Early Warning Signs are internal and may be
unrelated to reactions to stressful situations.
They are subtle signs of change that indicate
you may need to take some further action.
Early Warning Signs
Examples:
• Forgetfulness
• Being impatient
• Spending money impulsively
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Thinking something bad is going to happen
Early Warning Signs Action Plan
Sample Plan
• Spend at least 1 hour involved in an activity
I enjoy
• Get plenty of rest
• Tell a support how I am feeling
• Distract my mind from anxious thoughts
• Drink some water
When Things are Breaking Down
or Getting Worse
You may begin to feel even worse - very
uncomfortable - but you are still able to take
some action on your own behalf.
This is a very important time. It is a necessary
to take immediate assertive action to
prevent a crisis.
When Things are Breaking Down
Examples:
• Unable to sleep
• Obsessed with negative thoughts
• Avoiding Eating
• Feeling oversensitive or very fragile
• Risk taking behaviors like fast driving
When Things are Breaking Down
Action Plan
The plan needs to be clear and directive, with many
things you must do and fewer choices
Sample:
• Arrange for at least 3 days off of work
• Call my doctor or care provider and ask for their
advice
• Do 2 peer counseling sessions, 3 deep breathing
exercises, 2 focusing exercises
Crisis Planning
It includes:
• What you are like when you are well
• Indicators that others need to “take over”
• Who “takes over” and who doesn’t
• Information on your healthcare providers
and medications
Crisis Planning
• Home/Community/Respite Plan
• Acceptable and Unacceptable Hospital
Facilities
• Things others can do to help
• Things that others might do that would
make you feel worse
Crisis Planning
• A list of chores and tasks for others
• Indicators that the plan is no longer needed
• Signatures of key people
Post Crisis Planning
• The time you are healing from a crisis can
be very important
• Although you may feel ready to begin
taking care of yourself again, you may still
be dealing with difficult feelings or
symptoms, as well as the aftermath of the
crisis
Post Crisis Planning
• Address Issues and Create a Timetable for
resuming responsibilities
• Proactively make decisions about the
following issues that make sense to you
Post Crisis Planning
• How would you like to feel when you have
recovered from the crisis?
• Who do you want to support you through
this time?
• Where will you go afterward?
• Who would you like to stay with you?
Post Crisis Planning
List:
• Things you can ask others to do for you
• Things the can wait until you feel better
• Things you need to everyday
• Things and people you might need to avoid
• People you need to thank or apologize to
• Signs you can return to your daily maintenance list
WRAP
• Perhaps you have started to work on your
own plan or are helping someone else
develop their plan.
• If so, give yourself some credit for the work
you are doing. You nay even want to give
yourself a reward from time to time.
The Copeland Center
Offering WRAP Facilitator Training
• August 16-20 - Chicago, IL in connection
with NAOPS conference
• September 20-24 - Brattleboro, VT
Books & Resources
Books by Mary Ellen Copeland are
available on:
mentalhealthrecovery.com
Book Special!
The WRAP Story
On sale now!
$14.95 (reg. $19.95)
mentalhealthrecovery.com
Wellness Retreat
Experienced Advanced Level WRAP
Facilitators will be leading a wellness
retreat in southern New Hampshire in
October 2010.
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For more information, visit:
http://copelandcenter.com
Mentalhealthrecovery.com
Mentalhealthrecovery.com/webinars.php