Once I developed my WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) and got into the swing of doing positive things when negative things happen in my life, I was able to get out of my own way. I started having more confidence in myself and my abilities to try new things and take chances. The more that WRAP has become a way of life for me, the more I am able to achieve things I never thought possible before. I’ve started collecting “Wellness Tools” and that has really emphasized for me that fun and creativity are a powerful force for good, balance, and well-being. They also power up my action plans. My enthusiasm for WRAP only increases as I witness it’s power in my own life, and as I see how WRAP has empowered the lives of others. It is one of my best privileges to be able to facilitate WRAP and to train facilitators. I know that each time a person starts to develop a WRAP, they are opening the door to a whole new way of hopeful and more positive living.
I also appreciate that WRAP is versatile. One of my friends uses it to coordinate cancer, another with fibromyalgia. I know other people who have used WRAP to lose weight, stop addictions, quit smoking, find jobs, and more. WRAP can even be used with entire organizations, groups, businesses, marriages, parent/child relationships, partnerships — wherever there are people, WRAP is a powerful dynamic.
Mary Ellen Copeland, PhD, developed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) with a group of people with lived experience who were attending a mental health recovery workshop in 1997. She is the original author of the WRAP Red Book, as well as dozens of other WRAP books and materials. She has dedicated the last 30 years of her life to learning from people who have mental health issues; discovering the simple, safe, non-invasive ways they get well, stay well, and move forward in their lives; and then sharing what she has learned with others through keynote addresses, trainings, and the development of books, curriculums, and other resources. Now that she is retired, and that, as she intended, others are continuing to share what she has learned, she continues to learn from those who have mental health issues and those who support them. She is a frequent contributor to this site.
