Taking Action for First Responders - The Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery will conduct a WRAP First training program for medical care providers in five California counties. The training program, facilitated by people with lived experience in recovery, equips medical care providers with the knowledge and skills to identify and assist individuals experiencing serious mental illness and substance use disorders and then to connect those individuals to recovery-oriented mental health treatment and supports. The project will train 300 annually and 1,500 medical providers over a five-year period. The individuals being targeted to receive mental health awareness training from the Copeland Center are medical care providers, including primary care providers and front-line emergency medical workers. The population of focus are recipients of medical care and their loved ones, including COVID-19 patients and loved ones, who struggle with serious mental illness (SMI) and substance use disorders (SUD). The geographic catchment area will be five California Counties located in the Pacific coastal region of North Central California, including Alameda, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, San Mateo and Solano counties. Nearly one in six adults in California experiences a mental illness of some kind, and one in 24 has a serious mental illness that makes it difficult to carry out major life activities. Research indicates that about 6 percent of Californians are dependent on alcohol and 3 percent are addicted to illicit drugs. Over the last two decades, California has seen a dramatic increase in opioid deaths. Californians with behavioral health problems are more likely to seek medical care than psychiatric care and, despite positive progress that has been made in the 21st century, the California healthcare system is still fragmented, and medical care providers all too often ignore or misdiagnose SMI and SUD. Californians who experience a psychiatric crisis increasingly are seeking help in the state's medical emergency rooms. However, California's emergency medical professionals and support staff are ill-equipped to identify and assist individuals with SMI and SUD. The overarching goal of the WRAP First training program is to improve the capability of medical providers to better serve their patients with SMI and SUD. The measurable objectives of the WRAP First training program is to train medical care providers to: 1) Understand and embrace the principles and values of the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP); 2) Recognize the warning signs of when a patient or loved one is experiencing SMI and/or SUD; 3) Use WRAP tools to deescalate a mental health crisis; 4) Connect individuals experiencing SMI and/or SUD to recovery-oriented treatment and supports; and 5) Identify triggers and stressors in the environment in order to enhance their own self-efficacy. The WRAP First training program is an adaptation of the evidence-based practice of peer-facilitated WRAP groups that is listed in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. Dr. Judith A. Cook, Professor and Director of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy, has recognized WRAP First as a promising adaptation of the evidence-based practice of peer-facilitated WRAP groups.
