This presentation was conducted by Certified Advanced Level WRAP Facilitators, Bob and Jeanne White, and was recorded at the 2009 Upper Peninsula Peer Conference
 

(Video view time: 28:30)

When you finish a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), you end up with a plan in a one inch notebook. The notebook is divided into five sections:

• Daily Maintenance
• Triggers
• Early Warning Signs
• Things are Getting Worse
• Crisis Planning

Daily Maintenance - In the Daily Maintenance Section after you figure out what being all right looks like, you write down what you need to do to help you stay all right. This might include things as basic as brushing your teeth or making your bed or it might be something more complicated and comprehensive.

Triggers - In the Triggers Section you write down what your triggers are.Triggers are things that happen (outside of you; externally) that can blow you to a place in your recovery journey that you might not want to be near. A trigger might be things like a certain kind of music that has bad memories attached to it, a messy house, or angry voices. What happens in this section is you figure out how you are going to act so you have the opportunity to change your reactions. When you start taking charge you donʼt end up blown where you donʼt want to be.


Early Warning Signs - When an Early Warning Sign happens in your life, something is or isn’t happening internally, compared to when you are well. An early warning sign might be that you don’t want to get up and brush your teeth. You might not want to take a shower or go outside. Those can be early warning signs. In this section you think about what you can do when your early warning signs are happening, and what you can do to help you feel better.


Things Are Breaking Down or Getting Worse - Sometimes even when we have been following the plan we have been making, things might get worse. You are still able to do things for yourself, but if you don’t, a crisis can easily occur. In this section you identify what “breaking down” looks like and then you figure out what to do that will help when you feel things are “breaking down” around you.


Crisis Planning - In crisis planning you write a plan to help others know how to help you when you are not feeling well. What would you like to happen if it becomes necessary for someone to take over your care decision-making? What are the signs that happen so they would know they need to take over for you? What do you want to have happen? How do they know when to let you have care of yourself back? What needs to be taken care of?

Crisis Plans are something that you want to try to do while you are well.

Through the years specific forms have been developed to help you in this process.

To download a copy of The Crisis Plan click here.

To download a copy of The Post Crisis Plan click here.


Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) groups offer support, other tools and information that will make the WRAP process easier. WRAP educators are taught to avoid talking directly about psychiatric diagnosis or using medical or illness oriented language to frame people’s needs.