Mental health recovery action plans ensure you always have the tools and resources you need to stay well. A key component of recovery action plans for mental health is forward-thinking preparedness. Essentially, individuals think ahead to create a wellness plan for themselves whenever they start to spiral. By outlining specific concepts, like your triggers, daily maintenance, and crisis management, you ensure you’re always in good hands. At Aliya Health Group, creating a mental health recovery plan is part of programming. Here’s what it looks like.
What Is a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan?
All in all, a mental health recovery action plan is a self-outlined plan for both maintenance and crisis. When one knows they struggle with a mental disorder, they can prepare an action plan for the bad times. These plans are also frequently called wellness recovery action plans or WRAP for short. You make a WRAP plan based on your intimate knowledge about your mental health, triggers, and early warning signs. Yet, it can be tough to truly know how to help yourself. For this reason, we encourage individuals to invite a trusted person into the creation of their mental health recovery plan. For instance, we offer WRAP plan creation at our centers, both as part of individual and group counseling.
Why Is Having a Plan for Mental Health Recovery Important?
When you struggle with mental illness, it’s imperative to have certain structures and tools in place to help yourself thrive. It’s difficult to remain outside of your negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors when you begin to spiral. You might not always find it easy to use the healthy coping mechanisms you’ve been taught. Maybe you don’t yet know what they should be. Thus, a mental health recovery plan reminds you how to pull yourself out of the darkness. Additionally, you can show it to others as a guide on how to help you when you aren’t able to care for yourself. WRAP plans also hold you accountable to help yourself even in the midst of an internal crisis. Because it is made by you for you, you map out the tools and steps that work.
What Can a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan Help With?
An action plan for mental health disorders is beneficial for all people, whether they struggle with mood disorders, behavioral disorders, personality disorders, substance disorders, etc. No matter what kind of mental health challenges you face, a WRAP plan can prepare you for the tough times. Our clients with the following mental health issues have benefitted from making a mental health action plan.
Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for Anxiety
Anxiety disorders can be debilitating, leaving the individual trapped in fear, unease, panic, and dread. They may not be able to concentrate on anything but their anxiety and feel worse and worse. Anxiety has a symptom of distress far beyond the actual scope of the situation. Yet, the individual finds it difficult to think logically in the midst of the circumstance. An anxiety recovery plan should include coping practices, trigger management, and action steps.
Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for Depression
Depressive disorders are mental health disorders that have symptoms of sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, and loss of interest in passions. During a depressive episode, individuals may isolate themselves, sleep too much, eat too little, and have trouble concentrating. Further, they may feel guilt and low self-worth and attempt self-harm or suicide. Thus, it is very important that people have a depression recovery plan to manage their intense thoughts, feelings, and actions. A recovery plan allows them to outline their behaviors when they’re doing well and when they’re not. It also outlines what they need from themself or others to escape the episode.
Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for Trauma
Trauma disorders can have unpredictable symptoms that occur when least expected, even years down the line. Some trauma-related disorders include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder (ASD), and reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Trauma recovery plans help individuals maintain their wellness through triggers and flashbacks. Many veterans and first responders battle PTSD and trauma. Having a PTSD recovery plan helps them return to civilian life fulfilled and healthy.
Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for Personality Disorders
Personality disorders are mental disorders where a person experiences an unformed identity, unstable relationships, and shifting moods. Many symptoms of personality disorders revolve around the person’s low self-awareness and sense of self, as their thoughts, moods, and behaviors change often. Personality disorders can be tough to diagnose, as some symptoms are similar to those of other disorders. For example, borderline personality disorder can mimic the changing mood swings of bipolar disorder, while schizotypal personality disorder is similar to schizophrenia. When even the individual struggles to understand their symptoms, it’s important for them to create a plan of action.
Mental Health Recovery Action Plan for Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are mental health illnesses that affect one’s moods and emotions. Some mood disorders are depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and substance-induced mood disorders. People with mood disorders benefit from emotional regulation skills and healthy coping mechanisms, as it’s easy to spiral into insecurity. A mental health recovery plan can outline how to prevent episodes of low mood where they turn to self-harm or substances.
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Speak With Our Admissions TeamWorking With a Therapist to Create a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan
As mentioned, creating a mental health recovery action plan can be a solo endeavor. Since you know yourself and your symptoms and triggers, you should be heavily involved in making your action plan. Yet, a person can be much better prepared to face their mental illness symptoms when they collaborate with a trusted colleague. We provide recovery action plan meetings between clients and therapists because working with an expert provides clients with more tools. Additionally, we offer WRAP classes in group therapy, where people work individually on their own plan based on group discussion and teaching. The process of making a mental health plan with a therapist at Aliya is straightforward.
Initial Assessment
Rehabilitation with Aliya Health Group always begins with an initial assessment, regardless of your struggles. This meeting between you and your therapist helps them best understand you and how to help. They may ask questions about your background, mental health, and/or substance abuse challenges, coping patterns, and goals. Together, you will create an individualized service plan for your time in treatment. In connection, this outlines your desire to create a mental health recovery plan.
Insurance Verification
If you wish to use your insurance to pay for treatment, our intake team is knowledgeable about insurance coverage. They will be able to find out the details of your plan and verify your insurance. Your policy provider may cover some or all of your treatment. But if you don’t have insurance, our intake team can walk you through your options.
Making Your Mental Health Recovery Plan
The process of creating your mental health guide consists of several sessions with your therapist to discuss your action plan. Through open conversations about your unhealthy patterns, triggers, coping mechanisms, and warning signs, you’ll determine how to use the plan. Together, you will discuss healthy management techniques and tools. You may participate in group WRAP sessions with a clinical mental health counselor, as well.
Aftercare Planning
After you complete your time in rehab, you will graduate into the aftercare level of care. In this stage, you have gained independence in your recovery but still benefit from connection and support. Speak to your therapist about how you think you can best be supported. It could look like moving into a Sober Living House or joining a peer recovery support group.
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Check Your CoverageWhat Is a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan Like?
Now that we’ve outlined why you should create one, what does a mental health recovery plan include? How can you make one? Wellness recovery action plans exist to provide you with the tools and resources to overcome your symptoms when you’re struggling. Thus, you need to outline concrete details about your disorder and how it can be improved in your wellness plan. The following details should be considered and included for a well-rounded action guide.
Daily Routine
A large part of staying healthy and well is having positive routines. Your mental health action plan should not only be utilized when you’re not doing well. In order to maintain your mental health, put into action daily steps that benefit your wellness. These should include holistic wellness tips for your mind, body, and spirit. For example, you might plan for daily movement, nutritious eating, time spent with loved ones, and creative expression.
Identifying and Avoiding Triggers
Another key part of your action plan is identifying your triggers and how to avoid them. You might ask yourself: What triggers me and what are the results in my body and mind? Then consider: How can I limit my exposure to these triggers? Being aware of things that will disturb your mental peace is a good first step to staying healthy.
Learning Coping Mechanisms
Coping mechanisms in your recovery plan act as a wellness toolbox you can reach into and use whenever needed. Individuals can fall into negative coping mechanisms when they feel upset, like using substances, isolating, or instant gratification without long-term rewards. Some positive coping mechanisms you might outline in your action plan are talking with a counselor, journaling, exercising, or creating.
Crisis Planning
Along with daily management practices, your wellness recovery plan will need to outline what to do in a crisis. This can include details on how to help yourself but can also turn the focus onto trusted others. Outline who to contact, who not to contact, what they should do, and which treatment centers you are comfortable with in the case of escalation.
What Are the Benefits of a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan?
Mental health recovery action plans provide you with specific help for your mental illness using behavioral health techniques and tools. They provide you with knowledge that you’ll be ok in the midst of a crisis because you’re caring for yourself in advance. Additionally, it gives you the structure of your daily routine and healthy habits that will benefit you. The act of self-learning that comes from making a recovery plan can have the following positive results.
Increased Self-Awareness
Creating your own wellness recovery action plan requires you to reflect deeply on yourself and your disorder. This can be uncomfortable or distressing, so many people avoid such thoughts. Yet, there is great value in going deep and sitting with the discomfort. Essentially, you are asking yourself what you need in order to be healthy. This leads to greater self-awareness and increased trust in yourself.
Improved Coping Skills
In asking yourself what you need, you are also asking yourself how you can provide for yourself. Thus, having a mental health recovery plan means you’re aware of positive coping skills. You can put these tools into action for the rest of your life.
Improved Emotional Regulation
Part of a WRAP is outlining how to moderate your emotions instead of being controlled by your thoughts and feelings. Overall, your feelings are dependent on your sense of reality in any moment, which can steer you astray. When making your WRAP, you will outline tools to regulate your emotions.
Improved Communication Skills
Poor communication with yourself and others leads to more damage and destruction. In your recovery plan, you’re telling yourself exactly what you need. If you intend to share your mental health action plan with trusted others, you’re also telling them what you need. This ensures all the guidelines are in place and increases your comfort in vulnerability.
Personalization and Flexibility
Your action plan is entirely tailored to you. Since you are the one creating it and following it, you can build flexibility into your plan. For example, if you feel too tired to follow your exercise routine one day, you can prioritize rest instead. As long as you make healthy choices, your recovery plan will benefit you.
Decreased Symptoms of Mental Health Disorders
Above all, recovery action plans are effective at treating mental health disorders because they address symptoms of illness. The techniques, tools, skills, and resources you outline in your plan will serve you during good and bad times. Your clinical mental health counselor will provide guidance about positive versus negative symptom management to set you on the right path.
Finding a Mental Health Treatment Facility
It’s time to get started on your mental health recovery action plan to improve your mental health and well-being. Although you know yourself best, don’t build your WRAP plan on your own. At Aliya, our mental health therapists and counselors are knowledgeable about how to tackle mental illness symptoms. They can help you create the best, most effective action plan to create a fulfilling future. Please reach out to a mental health provider today to choose which of our mental health facilities is the best fit for you!
