DAP Notes: Template, Cheat Sheet and Examples

Client: [identifier your setting uses]
Date of service: [date]   Start and end time: [00:00 to 00:00]
Session type: [individual / couple / family / group; in person or telehealth]
Telehealth (optional): [client's location this session; video or audio only]
Service code: [if you bill]   Clinician: [name, credentials]

D (Data)
- What the client reported (concerns, changes since last session, events): [ ]
- What you observed (presentation, affect, engagement): [ ]
- Measures and scores: [ ]
- Interventions used in session: [ ]
- Risk: what the client reported and what you observed: [ ]

A (Assessment)
- Your clinical interpretation: [ ]
- Progress toward treatment-plan goals: [ ]
- Response to today's interventions: [ ]
- Risk level and reasoning: [ ]

P (Plan)
- Next session focus and interventions: [ ]
- Homework or practice agreed: [ ]
- Referrals, coordination or safety-plan updates: [ ]
- Next appointment and frequency: [ ]

Signature, credentials, date: [ ]

D: Client reports low mood "most days" and sleeping 10 to 11 hours. Did one of
three planned activities (a walk with a friend) and said it "helped a little."
Affect constricted, brighter when describing the walk. PHQ-9: 16 (19 two weeks
ago); item 9 scored 0. Reviewed activity log; used behavioral activation to
schedule three activities for the coming week. Denies suicidal ideation.

A: Small improvement in mood and activation; PHQ-9 still in the moderately
severe range. Client linked activity to a small mood lift, which supports
continuing behavioral activation. Oversleeping remains a barrier. Progress toward goal 1 (increase pleasant activities to
three a week): partial. Risk judged low: denies suicidal ideation and PHQ-9
item 9 is 0.

P: Continue behavioral activation. Homework: three scheduled activities and a
fixed wake time of 8:00. Track mood before and after each activity. Next
session in one week.

D: Client reports two panic attacks this week, both on the bus, and has started
taking taxis to work. Rated fear of the bus 80 out of 100. Alert, anxious at
the start, settled by the end. Provided psychoeducation on the panic cycle;
client described the cycle in their own words and agreed to try exposure.
Practiced paced breathing as a coping skill; client rated anxiety 60 before
and 35 after. Denies suicidal ideation.

A: Panic attacks maintained by avoidance of public transit. The client's grasp
of the panic cycle and agreement to try exposure suggest readiness to begin
graded exposure. Paced breathing is a coping skill, kept separate from the
exposure work. Risk judged low:
denies suicidal ideation.

P: Build an exposure hierarchy for transit next session. Homework: practice
paced breathing twice daily and log panic symptoms. Next session in one week.

D: Partners report two arguments this week about household tasks, both ending
with one partner pressing to keep talking and the other leaving the room. Both
engaged; voices raised briefly when discussing the weekend. Practiced a
speaker-listener exercise; each partner summarized the other's view accurately
on the second attempt. Both deny any physical aggression or safety concerns
when asked separately.

A: Escalation follows a pursue-withdraw pattern. Both partners could slow the
exchange with structure, which supports goal 2 (resolve one disagreement a
week without leaving the room). No safety concerns reported.

P: Continue structured communication practice. Homework: one 15-minute
speaker-listener conversation on a low-conflict topic. Next session in two
weeks.