FREE 10+ Psychotherapy Note Samples [ Progress, Soap, Software ]

A psychotherapy note is not part of the general medical records of a patient or client. It is a document in which the therapists keep for themselves in order to record their observations on a client’s behavior and thinking during counseling sessions. This kind of client progress notes does not include the medical prescriptions and other moves to treat the client’s condition. They are simply the personal thoughts of a therapist about the progress of their client’s thought process which affects how they respond and to different situations. It also serves as an unofficial behavioral analysis on the client’s behavior in response to different situations and outside triggers. 

A psychotherapy note is not part of the general medical records of a patient or client. It is a document in which the therapists keep for themselves in order to record their observations on a client’s behavior and thinking during counseling sessions. This kind of client progress notes does not include the medical prescriptions and other moves to treat the client’s condition. They are simply the personal thoughts of a therapist about the progress of their client’s thought process which affects how they respond and to different situations. It also serves as an unofficial behavioral analysis on the client’s behavior in response to different situations and outside triggers. 

If you are a new medical professional and you want to create your own psychotherapy note, you can get inspiration and a reliable format by downloading our free Psychotherapy Note Samples to get you started. 

10+ Psychotherapy Note Samples

1. Psychotherapy Note Sample

2. Psychotherapy Progress Note

3. Psychotherapy Notes Disclosure

4. Social Workers And Psychotherapy Notes

5. Printable Psychotherapy Note

6. Psychotherapy Note Policy

7. Psychotherapy Note Release Authorization

8. Psychotherapy Notes Privacy Policy

9. Editable Psychotherapy Note

10. Psychotherapy Note Disclose Authorization

11. Professional Psychotherapy Note

How to Write a Psychotherapy Note

Psychotherapy notes are easy to make but they still follow certain rules and guidelines because they are also the basis for diagnosis on a client’s condition. Here are some pointers on writing reliable psychotherapy notes.

1. Even with private and personal notes such as a psychotherapy note, there’s no such thing as absolute privacy because there might come a time that whatever is written in the note will be forced to be disclosed for some reasons that you can’t avoid. Private agreements and other documents might be forced to be accessed by certain bodies or organizations for legal purposes where there is a court convention that can help in a case’s progress.  Thus, you should always consider what to write in the note so as also to protect the privacy and welfare of your client. You can also check our sample privacy statements to guide you in writing privacy statements in which privacy is an utmost priority. 
2. Some psychotherapists develop their own shorthand codes so that the privacy of their contents is protected and will not be easy to understand. Codes vary from one individual to another whether they might be medical professionals or not. It can vary from alphanumeric symbols or simple sentences written in certain existing languages that are specially modified to be understood by only those who wrote it. One of the most popular codes used for this purpose is the morse code. 
3. Psychotherapy notes should, of course, be kept separate from any other official documents in an office setting or even at the home so that the chances of it being accessed by anyone is slim. Or, you can also do something to exclude where you keep your notes from the office maintenance schedule so that utility personnel will most likely avoid it. 
4. If the psychotherapy notes are being subpoenaed by a court for whatever purpose it is deemed important, it doesn’t mean that you have to comply right away because there are things that need to be considered before the privacy in which the note contains is divulged. More often than not, if the client doesn’t agree to give access to the document, legal provisions will not agree to it. However, if the court will insist on handing out the document due to the gravity of the case being handled in recent time, most likely the court will take hold of the note. Either way, a legal request form must be secured by any organizational body to get a hold of the contents of the notes. 

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