F-3
come to the Clinic to review files periodically (at least each semester). If an occasion arises in which you want to
remove the file from the Clinic, you need permission of the Clinic Director and need to put a check-out card
where the file was so that staff know it is out. If you are in possession of a file, you are responsible for
maintaining its confidentiality—keep it in your possession or keep it in a secure place.
Psychotherapy notes must be kept separate from the main file. That could be in a different locked drawer at the
Clinic (but never in the top drawer where active files are kept). It is likely that these are the notes you’ll want
with you for supervision and preparation for sessions, so you may keep them in your possession. If so, you must
assure that confidential information is protected by securing these files in your home or office. Each clinician
should develop habits and methods of protecting confidential information, for instance, psychotherapy notes and
testing files that you may want in your possession and care outside the Clinic building.
A note regarding assessment files is in order at this point. You may be keeping assessment materials with you
for scoring and writing outside the Clinic. The safest way to preserve confidentiality and secure the file is to keep
name identification out of the file until you finalize it in a report. Then secure the original file and all materials
at the Clinic.
Styles Of Progress Notes
The following are some suggestions for the content of progress notes:
1. Use the Clinic’s standard Progress Note form (Appendix F-2) to provide the basic information about who
was seen when by whom, for how long and for what purpose. Payment is recorded on this form as well in
addition to the receipts filled out for the client and the Clinic.
2. The note may be brief but should include a description of the major events or topics discussed, specific
interventions used, your observations and assessment of the client’s status, and any plans you may have
for the future.
3. It is not necessary that these notes be extensive. In fact, in future practice when time is of the essence,
brevity and capturing the essence of the treatment in a session will be necessary. Two examples of
structured systems for progress note writing are listed briefly below with references to more complete
descriptions.
Compared to psychotherapy notes. By their nature, psychotherapy notes can be in any form that is useful to
you and need not be readable by others (e.g. use of your own personal shorthand is acceptable). Think of
psychotherapy notes as a form of self-consultation and preparation for supervision. It is here that you may feel
free to detail what happened in a session in order, put your thoughts and feelings about what was going on, list
hunches and hypotheses to explore further, and write questions to bring up with your supervisor. You may also
want to jot notes from your supervisory session that you want to include in your thinking for future sessions.
D(R)AP format for progress notes. In hospital settings, the most common guideline for notes is the SOAP
format (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) described briefly below. Many practitioners have found the
SOAP format awkward or forced for recording progress in psychotherapy. The preferred format for notes at the
Clinic uses the acronym DAP (Description, Assessment and Plan). Baird (2002) suggests a similar format and
his thoughts on clinical documentation are useful. In a typical therapy session, a client may bring up two or
three therapy-significant events or issues or describe the activity of carrying out a homework assignement. Each
may be briefly documented in the DAP format.
Description, as Baird elaborates, provides information as to who was involved, where, and when a significant
event occurred. It could also be a description of an issue of personal importance discussed by the client and
how they experienced the event. A description could also be the way a client carried out an assignment and the
difficulties or success they experienced. Baird includes a separate section (R for Response) for what the clinician
does in response to the client’s issue. We recommend that clinician behavior be woven into description.
Response (per Baird) is what you did after listening and observing and reflecting on what the client brought to
the session. This may be an interpretation offered, a clarification, information given, a homework assignment, a
challenge to narrow thinking about an issue, formal problem solving around the event, empathetic/supportive
behavior on your part, functional analysis of a situation, a normalizing comment, or whatever is appropriate
from the therapeutic conceptualization you are using. If the situation is a serious one involving detailed