Do you have a plan for when life comes at you? We all need a path for wellness..
A WRAP, or a Wellness Recovery Action Plan, is useful when navigating the everyday challenges of life. WRAP is a strengths-based model that helps people suffering from mental illness or trauma to define practical steps to begin recovery and healing.
A WRAP specifically helps people to do four things:
Decrease and prevent intrusive or troubling feelings and behaviors
Increase personal empowerment
Improve quality of life
Achieve their own life goals and dreams
A WRAP is a value-driven approach to wellness. It is based on self-knowledge and common sense. One aspect of a WRAP is outlining what “wellness tools” you intend to use to help improve your mental health and wellness. These “tools” are simply practices you intend to use as part of your plan. They could be anything from a morning ritual that you use to start every day to specific phrases you tell yourself when you encounter certain triggers. Whether you realize it or not, it’s likely that you’re already using some of these “wellness tools” on a more informal basis. WRAP simply gives you a framework to understand and use these tools. Examples of an informal wellness plan are:
You know what you need to do on a daily basis to stay healthy and in a good headspace.
You are aware of your weaknesses and your triggers, and you know what to do about it.
You know when you are not feeling or acting like yourself, and you make adjustments with intentional actions.
You know how to rest and regroup after an extended period of stress or crisis.
WRAP is a systematic yet deceptively simple process of caring for one’s own wellness. Wellness planning is an opportunity to take action by focusing on a sustainable life. Done well, it allows you to regain control over your life and, specifically, over your mental health. It puts you on a healthier path that can be sustained over the long haul.
Though each individual develops their own WRAP, they can also include supporters in the process, such as healthcare professionals, who can help them achieve their goals while remaining in control of the process. Support groups provide additional help as individuals determine how to design and implement their WRAP.
WRAP founder Mary Ellen Copeland, Ph.D. says:
We must work to make sure that every person knows that they can get through even the hardest of times, and come out on the other side, and that the system can provide the tools so that can happen. We must work to make sure that every person has access to this knowledge and to these services without stigma—young and old, rich and poor.
Who WRAP Can Help
caregivers
veterans
families
young people
people with trauma experiences
people with developmental disabilities
medical issues
suicide prevention
mental illness
recovery of any sort
Morgan Guidance educational consultants view WRAP in the same genre as empowerment or self-help. A WRAP might be informed with techniques such as utilizing a meditation app, such as Headspace, or incorporating daily acts of mindfulness.
While useful for all, WRAP, at its core, is designed to be an accessible, empowering, and uncomplicated approach for the vulnerable whose wellness depends on being intentional and prepared when everyday life comes at them.
Educational Consultant Elaine Morgan facilitates WRAP for individuals and families. Morgan Guidance assists individuals in identifying programs consistent with WRAP and self-determination.
Contact Morgan Guidance to be intentional about your wellness and to learn about classes and private planning sessions. Therapists and therapeutic programs are also invited to contact us to learn how WRAP can support their clients.
