The template
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] G (Goal) - Treatment-plan goal and objective addressed: [number and wording from the plan] - Client's report on this goal since last session: [ ] - Measures, ratings or counts: [ ] I (Intervention) - What you did, named specifically (technique or approach): [ ] - How it served the goal: [ ] R (Response) - How the client responded during the session: [ ] - What you observed (affect, engagement, behavior): [ ] - Progress toward the goal, with evidence: [ ] - Risk: what you asked about thoughts of suicide, self-harm or harm to others, and what the client reported: [ ] - If risk is reported: your assessment, 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: [ ]
What goes in each section
Goal names the treatment-plan goal the session addressed, in the plan's own numbering and wording, so a reader can match the note to the plan. Add what the client reported about that goal since the last session and any score, rating or count. If the session touched more than one goal, name the main one first and note the others briefly. If the goals are not written yet, start with the treatment plan template.
Intervention is what you did, named specifically: "exposure and response prevention, in-session exposure to door handles" tells a reader far more than "provided support". Say how it served the goal.
Response is how the client responded to today's intervention: what they did, said and rated during the session, and what you observed. Then state progress toward the goal with evidence, such as a count or a score compared with intake. GIRP has no fixed place for risk. This template records it in Response; follow your setting if it uses another section. Record what you asked and what the client said, including when the answer is no. If the client reports any of these thoughts, also record plan, intent, access to means (firearms, stockpiled medication), past attempts, risk and protective factors, and your judgment of risk with its reasoning. Put the safety steps in Plan, including crisis resources such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For thoughts of harming someone else, record toward whom, follow your setting's protocol and check your state's duty-to-warn or duty-to-protect law.
Plan is what comes next: the next intervention, homework, referrals, safety steps and the next appointment.
Two filled examples
All examples on this page are fictional composites. They do not describe real clients.
1. Adult in their 30s, contamination fears, in person, 50 minutes. Goal 2: reduce handwashing from about 25 times a day to 8 or fewer.
G: Goal 2 (reduce handwashing from about 25 times a day to 8 or fewer). Client reports washing 15 to 18 times a day this week, by their log, and completed 4 of 5 planned home exposures. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS, clinician-rated, scored 0 to 40): 21, down from 26 at intake. I: Exposure and response prevention (ERP). Before the exposure, client predicted they would "have to wash within 10 minutes." In-session exposure: client touched the waiting-room door handle and the restroom faucet, then did not wash for the rest of the session. Reviewed the home log and planned the next step on the hierarchy. Addresses Goal 2. R: Client did not wash for the remaining 35 minutes. Held hands away from their body at first, then rested them on their lap. Distress 80 out of 100 at its highest. Client said, "I thought I'd have to wash right away, and I didn't." Progress toward Goal 2: washing down from about 25 to 15 to 18 times a day since intake; home exposures 4 of 5. Denies thoughts of suicide, self-harm or harm to others. P: Next hierarchy step: touch door handles and carts at the grocery store, then no washing until the next planned time. Homework: that exposure daily; keep the washing log. Next session in one week.
2. Adult in their 40s, PTSD after a car crash, telehealth (client at home, video), 50 minutes. Goal 1: reduce PTSD symptoms and self-blame linked to the crash, tracked by the PCL-5 and stuck-point belief ratings.
G: Goal 1 (reduce PTSD symptoms and self-blame linked to the crash, tracked by the PCL-5 and stuck-point belief ratings). Client reports two nightmares this week, down from four or five a week at intake, and completed ABC worksheets on 5 of 7 days. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5, self-report, scored 0 to 80): 44, down from 55 at intake. I: Cognitive processing therapy (CPT). Socratic questioning on the stuck point "I should have seen the other car coming": compared what the client knew before the crash with what they know now. Introduced the Challenging Questions Worksheet. Addresses Goal 1. R: Tearful describing the moment before impact, then steady, and answered questions in more detail as the session went on. Rated belief in the stuck point 90% at the start and 60% at the end. Said, "I couldn't have known they'd run the red light." Progress toward Goal 1: PCL-5 down 11 points since intake; nightmares down from four or five a week to two. Denies thoughts of suicide, self-harm or harm to others. P: Homework: one Challenging Questions Worksheet a day, starting with this stuck point. Next session in one week.
Common mistakes
- A goal that is not in the plan. "Worked on anxiety" matches nothing. Use the plan's goal number and wording.
- A vague Intervention. "Provided support" does not show what you did. Name the technique.
- A Response that describes the week. The week's events belong under Goal. Response is how the client responded to today's intervention.
- Progress with no evidence. Give the count, score or rating that shows where the client stands against the goal.
- Risk asked but not recorded. Record what you asked and what the client said, including no.
- A Plan with no next step. Name the homework and the next appointment.
GIRP or BIRP
Both formats center on what you did and how the client responded. BIRP opens with the client's behavior and presentation; GIRP opens with the treatment-plan goal. If your setting asks every note to show goal-directed work, GIRP puts that link first. The BIRP note template and examples show the other layout.
FAQ
What does GIRP stand for?
Goal, Intervention, Response and Plan. Some settings write the first section as "Goals". It records the treatment-plan goal addressed, what you did, how the client responded and what comes next.
What is the difference between GIRP and BIRP notes?
BIRP opens with the client's behavior and presentation. GIRP opens with the treatment-plan goal the session addressed. The Intervention, Response and Plan sections work the same way in both.
Can one GIRP note cover more than one goal?
Yes. Name the main goal first and record the intervention and response for it, then note any other goal you worked on. Your setting may ask for one note per goal; follow its rule.
Where does risk go in a GIRP note?
GIRP has no fixed risk section. Record it where your setting expects, such as Response, and record what you asked and what the client said even when there is no concern.
This page is educational. Adapt the template to your licensing board, your payer and your setting.
Reframe Practice is a tool for licensed therapists, not a therapy clinic or counseling service.