The Way WRAP Works
Executive Summary
The Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) is a personalized wellness and recovery system born out of and rooted in the principle of self-determination. In 2010, WRAP® was recognized by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as an evidence-based practice and listed in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (http://nrepp.samhsa.gov). Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) released the results of a rigorous study that demonstrated significantly positive behavioral health outcomes for individuals with severe and persistent mental health challenges who participated in peer-led WRAP® groups. Research studies on WRAP® from UIC cited that positive outcomes were tied to the fidelity of the WRAP® facilitation model designed by Mary Ellen Copeland and developed by the Copeland Center.
Today, WRAP® is being widely implemented by behavioral health systems, however, significant compromises to the resources provided and fidelity in implementing WRAP® is falling short of the quality people in recovery deserve. People in recovery deserve the best services we have to offer!The following paper addresses the need to strengthen our values and practices through partnerships with behavioral health organizations and systems to adhere more closely to the fidelity standards of the WRAP® model as designed. This paper will guide you through the following key standards:
✓ Participation in WRAP® groups and services is completely voluntary
✓ Individuals are trained to use WRAP® through a peer group process
✓ WRAP® groups are facilitated by two properly-trained Facilitators
✓ WRAP® groups are facilitated by Facilitators who complete a Copeland Center WRAP® Refresher Course at least once every two years
✓ WRAP® group participants and WRAP® Facilitators receive appropriate mentoring
✓ WRAP® groups are conducted in strict adherence to the core ethics and values of WRAP® as defined by the Copeland Center
✓ WRAP® groups are utilizing the copyrighted curriculum developed by Mary Ellen Copeland
The key to ensuring that recipients of behavioral health services receive the full benefit of using WRAP® is for the leaders and participants in behavioral health organizations to better understand and incorporate the ethics, values, and practices that Mary Ellen Copeland, the Copeland Center, and the grassroots practitioners of WRAP® have established. This paper serves as a guideline for how behavioral health organizations can implement WRAP® with fidelity to the model as designed by people in recovery with Mary Ellen Copeland and developed by the Copeland Center.
After a long history of failed and even abusive treatment in mental health, today we have simple, safe, and practical resources to support people though WRAP®. People in recovery deserve the very best supports we can offer -not quick fixes and half-efforts. Hope this paper will support you to offer and ensure the very best WRAP® programs.
