It’s best to choose a few sentences that best represent the most pressing concern your client brought into the session. S = Subjective information, such as quotes from the client, or paraphrased statements they’ve given in session. SOAP notes are the most common type, containing four separate types of information in four distinct rows: There are a lot of different formal approaches to taking progress notes, but the three main types are SOAP notes, BIRP notes, and DAP notes: They can also be completed collaboratively with the client, to help establish a therapeutic alliance. Progress notes cover three basic categories of information: what you observe about the client in session, what it means, and what you (or your client) are going to do about it. Often the information contained in these notes will be partially dictated by the standards of the insurance company or institution you’re reporting to. Since they’re often necessary for insurance purposes, the document will also contain other basic information such as diagnosis, prescriptions, what type of therapy you’re doing, and your client’s Medicaid number. Progress notes are a more formal document related directly to your client’s treatment plan.
However, you can draw the valid information you need from them to create progress notes. And since they’re a class of specially protected notes, they should be kept physically separate from progress notes. Since they’re more private, they can be kept quite detailed. Unlike progress notes, you’re not legally obligated to release these notes to your client by federal law-although some states may require you to share them if the client asks for them. Since these notes often contain highly sensitive information, HIPAA grants them special protection. They tend to be more freeform notes about the session and your impressions of the client’s statements and demeanour.
Process notes are sometimes also referred to as psychotherapy notes-they’re the notes you take during or after a session. Here’s the difference: Process Notes/Psychotherapy Notes Bringing details of past sessions into the therapy room also helps you establish trust and rapport with your new clients, as evidence that you’re really listening.Īlthough there’s a lot of variation in the way therapists take notes, there’s two broad categories of notes that you might keep: process, or psychotherapy notes, and progress notes. Good notes improve your ability to recall details between sessions, and avoid repeating past interventions that didn’t work. But really great notes can do so much more than protect your practice against liability. Some mental health practitioners take only the minimum amount of notes required by law (or by insurance companies).
#SMART NOTES THERAPY HOW TO#
Even the best therapists struggle with how to take good notes finding the right system that works for your practice isn’t always easy.