“WRAP changed my life,” says Lisa Brown CPC, AA. “It helped me navigate my mental health, opened doors to recovery and even led to employment. It wasn’t until I found the WRAP program that I experienced real recovery.”
Lisa, a peer support service supervisor at Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care and an Advanced Level W.R.A.P Facilitator, has been in recovery for the past 17 years. Her recovery journey started in 2007 when she was released from Mission Creek Women’s correctional facility and became a Certified Peer Specialist in 2014. That’s when she was introduced to the WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan).
Founded in 1997 by Mary Ellen Copeland, WRAP has since grown into an internationally recognized program that helps individuals from all backgrounds navigate mental health and addiction challenges.
Its five key concepts – Hope, Personal Responsibility, Education, Self-Advocacy and Support –help participants learn how to recognize their personal stressors (“triggers”), how to ask for and receive help, and how to educate others about how best to support them during moments of crisis. It also helps individuals create a personalized road map for achieving personal goals and success.
“I’m living proof that recovery is absolutely possible and I attribute a lot of my success in recovery to WRAP,” Lisa says. “One of the most challenging aspects of recovery for myself and many others is relearning who you are all over again once you’re sober, and WRAP helped me navigate that in a healthy and extremely productive way.”
The Valley Cities team has seen the value of WRAP plans among each other and through their clients, Lisa adds. Developing a WRAP plan not only helps clients stay in control of their recovery, it also helps the team support them during times of crisis.
“The path to recovery is not linear. Life is messy and stressful for everyone, but when a client is at risk of entering a crisis situation (when things are breaking down) or is actively in crisis, we can open their WRAP plans and help them implement the tools they choose as being most beneficial to them. As a result, we can guide them back to being well and support them in a far more effective way.”
Valley Cities – offering WRAP since 2022 – is the only mental health facility currently certified in Washington to offer both training for seminar one (making your own personal plan) and seminar two (group facilitation to facilitate a seminar one group).
Clients currently receiving treatment have free access to either individual WRAP sessions or group sessions, where they can develop their own WRAP plans. Team members receive free access to develop their own WRAP plans as well as certification to help their clients create their own.
Additionally, Valley Cities currently offers level one and two training to outside agencies, and is exploring new funding opportunities to help rural communities train community leaders for free.
“While WRAP was designed with the needs of those struggling with mental health and/or addiction in mind, the program itself is incredibly versatile and beneficial for everyone. If you think about it, who wouldn’t benefit from a better understanding of themselves, what they need, what stresses them out, and what tactics work best for them when navigating particularly difficult moments in life?”
To learn more about the services offered at Valley Cities, including their WRAP program, visit valleycities.org. If you or someone you know is currently struggling with mental health and/or addiction, contact the Valley Cities team by phone at 253-833-7444 or in person at your local Valley Cities location. You can also call the 24 hour crisis line at 206-461-3222 or toll free at 866-427-4747.
