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Recovery & Resiliency Toolkit for Providers

Welcome to our Recovery and Resiliency resource page. The goal of this page is to provide ready access to current information and material related to Recovery and Resiliency. Here you will find materials and links that may be of use to you when addressing personal strengths, recovery & wellness planning or other related topics with clients. Check back often as content will be updated regularly with new tools and information.

The articles, materials or links available or referenced below are informational resources and tools you may use and are provided here for educational purposes only.* For more details, please see our Site Use Agreement.

Recovery & Resiliency Overview

What is Recovery?

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new working definition for Recovery, as of December 2011. SAMHSA defines Recovery from Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders as:

"A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential."

For additional information, please see SAMHSA’s working definition of “Recovery”.

The Values of Recovery & Resiliency:

The Recovery and Resiliency movement promotes a number of values associated with establishing and maintaining wellness that are shared by both consumers and mental health professionals. When we talk about Recovery and Resiliency we are talking about an approach that recognizes the:

  • Human dignity of each person
  • Ability of individuals to recover ground after a setback
  • Importance of self-determination
  • Ability of individuals to achieve mastery of goals

Symptoms and Functional Impairments

Clinical assessment has long included identification of strengths and resources. Recovery and Resiliency simply puts greater focus on personal goals and strengths rather than on illness. It recognizes the individual has personal strengths and resources that can and should be tapped as part of their recovery and wellness plan.

Symptoms and impairments associated with illness are not ignored. In fact, identifying and reporting symptoms and impairments remains necessary but is not sufficient for ongoing recovery. Understanding the individual challenges informs the use of strengths and resource including current level of care or services provided.

Consumer Role and Recovery Plan

Each consumer is actively engaged in creating a personal recovery plan and the plan includes:

  • Identification of “warning signs” that condition is worsening
  • Actions that the individual can take to regain and maintain stabilization

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a new working definition of Recovery, as of December 2011:
"A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential."

Peer Recovery Support Specialist Role

Peer Recovery Support  Specialists fill a unique role in the system of care.  They bring lived experience right into the community offering compassionate support to individuals who are on their own recovery journey.  Having achieved a minimum of one year of recovery from a substance use or co-occurring mental health and substance use condition they offer hope to others. They help guide individuals and families to support systems and resources within their community. 

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals offers a credential that standardizes competency for peer support and establishes educational and monitoring requirements. The Nationally Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist (NCPRSS) acts to empower people to be more actively engaged in their own recovery and wellness journey.   To learn more about the NCPRSS, visit NAADAC.org >  Certification > Peer Recover Support Specialist (NCPRSS).

Informational flyer - Optum welcomes the NCPRSS to the Recovery Team

SAMHSA has a Recovery to Practice initiative that “supports the expansion and integration of recovery-oriented care” and “fosters a better understanding of recovery, recovery-oriented practices, and the roles” of substance use and mental health disorder professions in promoting recovery.

NAADAC.org RTP Information

Person-Centered Planning

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a working definition of Person-Centered Planning, as of January 2014. CMS describes the Person-Centered Planning approach to treatment as follows:

"Person-centered planning is a process, directed by the family or the individual with long term care needs, intended to identify the strengths, capacities, preferences, needs and desired outcomes of the individual."

Access the entire Person-Centered Planning definition from CMS

The Toolkit

Please see the Recovery & Resiliency tools and resources available for your practice and your patients in our new online toolkit:

Resources for You:

Articles

What is a Recovery-Oriented Practice?

How can a practitioner adopt recovery-oriented practices within the context of a traditional or conventional mental health program setting? What role do medications play in recovery?

Find the answers to these questions and more in SAMHSA’s Thirty of the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Recovery and Recovery-Oriented Practice.

The 10 Fundamental Components of Recovery

Learn more about the 10 fundamental components of Recovery from SAMHSA, in this printable brochure.

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)

SAMHSA has included a summary of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) in their National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). Access the WRAP Intervention Summary from SAMHSA for additional information.

Why Adding 'Recovery' to a Treatment Plan Does Not Make It a 'Recovery Plan'

"What may be confusing about the notion of a recovery plan is that it challenges professionals to approach their medical and clinical practice from the perspective of the person with the condition, understanding that he or she is the driver of the process and the key decision-maker." – Larry Davidson, Ph.D.

Read more from Larry Davidson, Ph.D. in SAMHSA’s Recovery to Practice article from May 2012.

Insight

“A recovery-oriented approach seeks to foster insight into the possibilities as well as the challenges associated with mental illness.” – Gina Duncan, M.D.

Read more from Gina Duncan, M.D. in SAMHSA's Recovery to Practice article from January 2012.

Person-Centered Care and Planning

"Person-centered care is about understanding the strengths and abilities, as well as the needs and challenges, of each individual and understanding that individual’s personal recovery vision—and then helping him or her to get the services and supports needed to make those hopes and dreams a reality." – Neal Adams, M.D., MPH, and Diane Grieder, M.Ed

Read more from Neal Adams, M.D., MPH, and Diane Grieder, M.Ed in SAMHSA’s Recovery to Practice article from April 2012.

Tools for your practice

Recovery Planning Tool

The Recovery Planning Tool provides support for identifying strengths and building a Recovery Plan with your members.

Psychiatric Advanced Directives

What is a Psychiatric Advanced Directive? What value does it bring to a consumer? How can a person go about creating one? Find answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Psychiatric Advance Directives from the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives.

The National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advanced Directives provides information and state-specific forms for creating a Psychiatric Advanced Directive (PAD).

External Resources

Educational Resources

The following educational resources may be useful for non-clinical personnel that help to support your practice:

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) offers courses to help communities better understand mental illness and respond to psychiatric emergencies.

The QPR Institute offers comprehensive suicide prevention training programs, educational and clinical materials for the general public, professionals, and institutions.

External Sources for Additional Information

There are many external resources that you can access for additional articles and information on Recovery & Resiliency. For your convenience, we have provided a list of some of the available resources below:

American Psychiatric Association
(888) 357-7924
www.psych.org

American Psychological Association
(800) 374-2721
www.apa.org

Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery
(802) 254-5335
www.copelandcenter.com

Faces & Voices of Recovery
(202) 737-0690
www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/

Mental Health Recovery and WRAP
For Training Information: (802) 254-5335
For all other inquiries, email: info@mentalhealthrecovery.com
www.mentalhealthrecovery.com

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
(800) 950-6264
www.nami.org

National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
(202) 684.7457
www.thenationalcouncil.org/cs/home

National Institute of Mental Health
(301) 443-4513
Email: nimhinfo@nih.gov
www.nimh.nih.gov

Pillars of Peer Support
Hosted by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
www.pillarsofpeersupport.org/about.php

Recovery to Practice: Resource Center for Behavioral Health Professionals
www.dsgonline.com/rtp/resources.html

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
(800) 487-4889
www.samhsa.gov

Resources and Articles for the Individuals & Families You Serve

Family and Friends’ Guide to Recovery

Individuals can help their friends and family members throughout their recovery. The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance has created the Family and Friends’ Guide to Recovery from Depression and Bipolar Disorder to help individuals support their loved ones through the recovery process.

Printable Tools

Action Planning for Prevention and Recovery

The Action Planning for Prevention and Recovery tool by SAMHSA contains easy-to-follow instructions on how to develop an Action Plan inclusive of the following items:

  • Developing a Wellness Toolbox
  • Daily Maintenance Plan
  • Identifying Triggers
  • Triggers Action Plan
  • Early Warning Signs
  • Crisis Planning
  • Using Your Action Plan
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Tools

The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance provides printable tools that empower individuals to take an active role in their recovery

Symptoms and Triggers

Healthy Lifestyles

Medications

Talk Therapy and Peer Support

Mood Tracking

Talking to Health Care Providers and Others

Recovery Planning Tool

The Recovery Planning Tool provides support to you and your members for identifying strengths and building a Recovery Plan.

Tools for Tracking Health and Wellness

Optum Whole Health Tracker

Through a combination of goal-setting, self-assessments and journaling exercises, Members learn to leverage their own intrinsic strengths and to use techniques that work for them in ten lifestyle domains. Members can use the results to track progress toward individual goals or share them with their designated support network.

Electronic Tools and Resources

Virtual Clubhouse Resource

The Facing Us Clubhouse is a program brought to you by The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). Members can access the virtual clubhouse for tools and information to support their personal recovery plan, including:

  • Personal wellness tips
  • Custom wellness plan
  • Favorite audio & videos
  • Wellness Tracker online
  • Daily journal
Online Health and Wellness Tracking Tools

There are a variety of external resources that provide free health and wellness tracking tools and information online via the Internet. For your convenience, we have provided a list of some of the available resources below:

MyOptumHealth provides access to information to support overall health and wellness in the "Tools & Tips" section of their website

MedHelp hosts a variety of health and wellness tracking tools

The Facing Us Clubhouse sponsored by DBSA includes an online Wellness Tracker

Community-Based Programs and Resources

Educational Resources for Members and Their Families

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) offers courses to help communities better understand mental illness and respond to psychiatric emergencies.

The QPR Institute offers comprehensive suicide prevention training programs, educational and clinical materials for the general public, professionals, and institutions.

Information and Resources on Warm Lines

What is a Warm Line?

While definitions can vary, SAMHSA’s Recovery to Practice article on Warm Lines defines a Warm Line as "peer-run listening phone line staffed by people in recovery themselves. Peer operators are trained to attentively and empathically listen to anonymous callers, offer compassion and validation, and assist callers in connecting with their own internal resources, strengths, and direction."

Accessing Warm Lines

There are a variety of external resources that provide information on accessing Warm Lines. For your convenience, we have provided a list of some of the available resources below:

  • The Peer Warm Line is accessible through 877.733.7563, a toll-free number that can be easily remembered, as it spells 877.PEER.LNE on a standard phone
  • WarmLine.org provides both national and state-specific Warm Line contact information

*Some materials, including a patient-oriented Recovery & Resiliency Center, are also available on the member website: liveandworkwell.com with the following notice for members:

  • The inclusion of links to other web sites does not imply any endorsement of the material on the web sites or any association with their operators.
  • This site provides health content designed to complement and enhance your personal health management. It does not provide medical advice or other health services. It is not meant to replace professional advice or imply coverage of specific clinical services or products. The information featured in this site is general in nature and is not a substitute for professional health care. If you have specific health care needs, consult an appropriate health care professional.
  • This site does not operate, control or endorse any information, products or services provided by third parties through the Internet. Use of other sites is strictly at your own risk including any risks associated with destructive viruses. We assume no responsibility for any circumstances arising out of the use, misuse, interpretation or application of any information or other material provided on this site or linked web sites.