Best for
- Goal-oriented psychotherapy documentation
- Settings that emphasize treatment-plan alignment
- Clinicians who want each session’s clinical purpose stated first
Therapy note template
GIRP Note Template
A GIRP note begins with the treatment Goal addressed in the encounter, followed by the Intervention, client Response, and Plan. It keeps progress-note content visibly aligned with the treatment plan.
What makes this format different
GIRP resembles BIRP, but the first section anchors the note in the treatment goal rather than the client’s behavior or presentation.
Copy and adapt
Blank GIRP template
Goal [Treatment goal, objective, or clinically relevant session focus.] Intervention [Techniques, psychoeducation, processing, or skill building used to address the goal.] Response [Engagement, insight, progress, barriers, and observable response.] Plan [Next interventions, skill practice, referrals, follow-up, and next-session focus.]
Adapt required fields to your license, setting, payer, EHR, jurisdiction, and organization policy. Do not use a generic template as a compliance checklist.
Prompt architecture
How to write each section prompt
A useful section prompt tells the writer what evidence belongs in the section, where the information comes from, and what must not be inferred. The prompts below are adapted from BeeThere’s production note-format definitions.
1
Goal
Connect the encounter to a treatment-plan target.
Section prompt
Document the treatment goal, objective, or session focus addressed, including the client’s stated goal and the clinically relevant concern connected to the plan.
Include
- Treatment-plan connection
- Session focus
- Desired change
Guardrail
Avoid broad goals that do not explain what this session addressed.
Fictional section example
The session addressed the treatment goal of reducing avoidance and improving the client’s ability to participate in work meetings despite anxiety.
2
Intervention
Record the skilled work used to advance the goal.
Section prompt
Document the therapeutic interventions provided to address the goal, including evidence-based techniques, psychoeducation, skill building, processing, or other clinician actions.
Include
- Specific technique
- How it addressed the goal
- Practice completed
Guardrail
Avoid listing modalities without describing their use.
Fictional section example
The therapist used CBT to examine catastrophic predictions and collaborated on a graded exposure step. The client rehearsed a two-minute meeting contribution.
3
Response
Show engagement, learning, and progress or barriers.
Section prompt
Document the client’s engagement, insight, participation, progress toward the goal, barriers, and observable response to the interventions.
Include
- Response to intervention
- Goal progress
- Remaining barrier
Guardrail
Avoid unsupported statements such as “made good progress.”
Fictional section example
The client generated a balanced prediction and completed the rehearsal. They rated willingness to try the exposure at 8/10 but remained concerned about visible anxiety.
4
Plan
Define the next action toward the same or revised goal.
Section prompt
Document interventions to continue, between-session practice, next-session goals, referrals, and follow-up recommendations.
Include
- Next exposure or skill
- Timing
- Review plan
Guardrail
Avoid a Plan that loses the connection to the stated Goal.
Fictional section example
The client will make one brief contribution in a low-stakes meeting and record predicted versus actual outcomes. Review the exposure and update the hierarchy next session.
Fully fictional
Completed GIRP example
This fictional example demonstrates how a GIRP note preserves the thread from treatment goal to between-session action.
Goal
The session addressed the treatment goal of reducing avoidance and improving the client’s ability to participate in work meetings despite anxiety.
Intervention
The therapist used CBT to examine catastrophic predictions and collaborated on a graded exposure step. The client rehearsed a two-minute meeting contribution.
Response
The client generated a balanced prediction and completed the rehearsal. They rated willingness to try the exposure at 8/10 but remained concerned about visible anxiety.
Plan
The client will make one brief contribution in a low-stakes meeting and record predicted versus actual outcomes. Review the exposure and update the hierarchy next session.
Quality check
Common documentation mistakes
- Naming a goal that is not in or connected to the treatment plan
- Describing a session topic instead of a clinical goal
- Omitting the client’s response to the intervention
- Using an unrelated Plan
Keep learning
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