Mental Health Recovery Including Wellness Recovery Action Planning

Mental Health Recovery Including: Wellness Recovery Action Planning® WRAP® Mary Ellen Copeland, Ph. D

Key Recovery Concepts • Hope • Personal Responsibility • Education • Self-Advocacy • Support 6

There is Much to Hope For! You can work toward and meet your goals! You can lead a happy and productive life! 8

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! 11

Education Learn all you can about yourself so you can make good decisions about: • Treatment • Lifestyle • Career • Relationships • Living Space • Leisure Time Activities • All Aspects of Your Life 13

Self-Advocacy Set personal goals and work toward meeting them by: ü Getting the facts ü Planning your strategy ü Gathering support ü Targeting your efforts 19

Supporters Are People Who: • Care about you • Empathize with you • Affirm and validate you and your experience • Accept you as you are • Listen to you and share with you 29

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. 106

WRAP Includes: § Daily Maintenance Plan § Triggers and Action Plan § Early Warning Signs and Action Plan § When Things are Breaking Down and Action Plan § Crisis Planning § Post Crisis Planning 220

Daily Maintenance List-3 Parts 1. What I’m like when I am feeling well 2. Things I need to do to keep feeling well 3. Things I may choose to do 245

Triggers External events or circumstances may make you feel very uncomfortable. These are normal reactions to life events - but if you don’t respond to them, they may actually make you feel worse. 254

Triggers Action Plan On the page after your list of Triggers, develop a plan that you feel will keep you from feeling worse if a triggering event occurs 259

Early Warning Signs are internal are subtle signs of change that indicate you many need to take some further action. 263

Early Warning Signs Action Plan On the next page develop a plan of things to do everyday until you feel better – a plan you think will help you from feeling worse if you notice Early Warning Signs. 268

When Things are Breaking Down or Getting Worse You may begin to feel even worse – very uncomfortable, like the situation is serious – and even dangerous – but you are still able to take some action in your own behalf. This is a very important time. It is necessary to take immediate, assertive action to prevent a crisis. 272

When Things are Breaking Down or Getting Worse The plan now needs to be clear and very directive, with many things you “must” do and fewer choices. 278

Crisis Planning The next section of the WRAP is the Crisis Plan. In spite of your best planning and assertive action, you may find yourself in a crisis situation where others will need to take over responsibility for your care. You may feel as though you are totally out of control. 281

Crisis Planning It Includes: § What you are like when you are well § Indicators that others need to “take over” § Supporters 285

Crisis Planning § Information on your Health Care Contacts and Medications § Acceptable and Unacceptable Treatments § Home/Community Care/Respite Plan 286

Crisis Planning § Acceptable and Unacceptable Hospital Facilities § Things others can do that would help § Support from others no longer needed 287

Post Crisis Planning The time when you are healing from a crisis can be very important. Although you feel ready to begin taking care of yourself again, you may still be dealing with difficult feelings as well as the aftermath of the crisis. You may find that you start feeling worse - like you are heading for another crisis. 314

Contact Information Lindsey Halligan: • 512 -483 -5861 • Lindsey. Halligan@atcic. org • https: //copelandcenter. com/