Evolution of Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) in Supporting Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) is an evidence-based emotional health self-management intervention that helps people establish a daily schedule for wellness comprised of rewarding activities to reach achievable goals. Originally developed for people with serious mental illness, WRAP is now addressing the mental health needs of older adults as one of ACL’s recommended CDSME programs. Learn how university-based collaborators worked with WRAP’s publisher and training organization to develop WRAP for Healthy Aging®, which retains the model’s documented active ingredients while also addressing pandemic-related social isolation, anxiety, and wellness challenges common to seniors. Discussed will be lessons learned from efforts to embed WRAP in one state’s CDSME instructor training and delivery system across multiple Illinois Area Agencies on Aging with diverse partner organizations including churches, veteran’s groups, libraries, public housing authorities, and senior centers. Ongoing efforts to promote the program’s sustained growth in Illinois and surrounding states will also be described.

Sean Johnson, MA, CRSS

WRAP for Seniors Project Coordinator

University of Illinois at Chicago

Sean Johnson, MA, CRSS is Research Specialist and Project Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy. He is an advocate for recovery education and peer-driven support services. Sean draws from his lived experience to fuel his passion for serving others by providing opportunities for empowerment through evidence-based practices that enhance both group and individual wellness. Sean collaborates with Dr. Judith Cook and Jessica Jonikas at UIC in program development, implementation, and evaluation for the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) for Seniors Project, funded by the federal Health & Human Services Administration for Community Living to deliver wellness self-management education to individuals aged 60 and older across Illinois.

Dr. Judith Cook

Professor and Director

University of Illinois at Chicago, Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy

Judith Cook is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. She specializes in studying illness-self management programs and other recovery-oriented interventions, particularly those delivered by peers in community settings. She worked with the creator of Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), Dr. Mary Ellen Copeland, to conduct the research that established WRAP as an evidence-based practice. She directs a grant from the federal Health and Human Services Administration on Community Living to bring WRAP to people age 60 years and older throughout the state of Illinois.

Jessica Jonikas

Associate Director

University of Illinois at Chicago

Jessica A. Jonikas, M.A., is Associate Director of the University of Illinois at Chicago Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy. Ms. Jonikas is co-investigator or program director on federally-funded projects to promote wellness self-management, holistic health, and self-determination for people in mental health recovery. Along with Dr. Cook, she worked with the creator of Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), Dr. Mary Ellen Copeland, to conduct the research that established WRAP as an evidence-based practice. Ms. Jonikas serves as Director of Operations on a grant from the federal Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living to bring WRAP to people age 60 years and older throughout the state of Illinois.