Examining factors associated with perceived recovery among users of wellness recovery action plan

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), an illness self-management intervention used internationally, enhances perceived recovery for adults with psychiatric disabilities, but the magnitude of positive change is modest at best. As part of a larger study about how adults with serious mental illness learn and use illness self-management strategies through WRAP, this paper reports on an investigation of the relationship between problem-solving and perceived recovery for WRAP users and addresses the question: To what extent is the degree of problem-solving confidence associated with the degree of perceived recovery for WRAP users?

An anonymous online survey was administered to adults with serious mental illness (N = 82) who had completed the Wellness Recovery Action Plan in the previous 6-24 months, with standardized scales to measure perceived recovery, problem-solving appraisal and confidence, self-reflection and insight, symptoms, and social support. Data were analyzed using multiple regression.

Problem-solving confidence (p = .013) and social support (p < .001) were associated with degree of perceived recovery, and the model accounted for 40% of the variance.

Whereas WRAP alone is modestly efficacious, it may be that adding a problem-solving intervention for small groups of adults with serious mental illness will increase the magnitude of change in perceived recovery by enhancing problem-solving confidence and increasing ongoing social support through group processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).