Be prepared for a crisis

Create an action plan

Creating a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) can be helpful in planning your overall care and avoiding a crisis. The best time to develop a WRAP is when things are going well and you can create it with your treatment team and other supportive persons.

Your WRAP should be individualized to your needs, but may include:

• Your address and phone number
• Current diagnoses, along with any medications you take (with dosages)
• History of psychosis, suicide attempts, or substance abuse
• List of what actions or people are likely to make the situation worse
• Strategies and treatments that have helped you in the past
• Behaviors to look for that may indicate a crisis is developing 
• Treatment choices/preferences
• Local crisis line number (you can usually find this by contacting NAMI, or by doing an internet search for “mental health crisis services” and the name of your county)
• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number
• Addresses of nearby walk-in crisis centers or emergency rooms
• Phone numbers for your therapist, psychiatrist and other healthcare providers
• Phone numbers of family members or friends who would be helpful in a crisis
• The one thing that is most important to you and worth living for
• Your personal safety plan

Go over your plan with a family member or friend, and with your therapist or health care provider. Keep copies in several places for easy reference, such as a kitchen drawer, your glove compartment, on your smartphone, a bedside table, or in your purse or wallet. See a template you can use to complete your personal Wellness Recovery Action Plan.

You can also use the use the NAMI resource guide on navigating a crisis to help you recognize, manage, prevent and plan for a mental health emergency — for yourself or a loved one.