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Free psychotherapy progress note generator
Write a complete therapy progress note in minutes, with session details, interventions, a clearly recorded risk assessment and progress toward each treatment goal.
How to use it
- 01
Add the session basics
Session number, length, format (in person or video) and any measure scores.
- 02
Describe focus and interventions
What the client brought, what you worked on and the techniques you used.
- 03
Record risk and goals
Your risk assessment in your own words, then progress on each treatment goal and the plan. The draft never adds risk content you did not write.
What goes in a therapy progress note?
A psychotherapy progress note is the record that goes in the client’s file after each session. It documents what was worked on and why, shows that treatment is progressing toward agreed goals, and records risk in a way another clinician could act on. It is distinct from private process notes, which some therapists keep separately.
- Session details
- Session number, duration, format (in person, video or phone) and any standardised measures completed.
- Session focus
- The main themes and events the client brought, and what you agreed to work on.
- Interventions
- The therapeutic techniques used in the session and how the client engaged with them.
- Risk assessment
- Thoughts of self-harm or suicide, plan, intent, history, protective factors, your risk judgement and any safety planning or actions taken.
- Progress toward goals
- Where the client is on each treatment goal: met, partly met or not started.
- Plan
- Homework, focus for next session, frequency, and any liaison or referral.
Therapy progress note example: depression, session 9
Session details
Session 9, 50 minutes, by video. Recurrent depression, moderate at intake. PHQ-9 13 (previously 17).
Session focus
Conflict with sister and low motivation at weekends. Client completed 3 of 5 planned activities (a walk, calling a friend, cooking). Reports ruminating on Sunday evenings.
Interventions
Reviewed behavioural activation and scheduled activities for the coming week. Chain analysis of a Sunday evening. Practised a self-compassion exercise.
Risk assessment
Passive thoughts (“what’s the point”) on two occasions this week, with no plan or intent. No previous suicide attempts. Protective factors: dog, sister, job. Safety plan reviewed and updated with a crisis line. Risk currently judged low.
Progress toward goals
Goal 1, activity five times a week: partly met. Goal 2, return to the gym: not started.
Plan
Continue weekly sessions. Schedule an activity for Sunday evening. Repeat PHQ-9 next session. If symptoms worsen, contact the GP about a medication review.
Need the diagnosis code too? Search ICD-10-CM codes
Tips for therapy progress notes
- Document a risk assessment every session it is done, including when it is negative, with plan, intent and protective factors stated separately.
- Record the actions taken for risk, such as safety plan updates, crisis numbers given or contact with other services.
- Refer to each treatment goal by number or name so progress can be tracked across sessions.
- Use measure scores with the previous value to support your view of progress.
- Keep personal reflections and hypotheses you would not want in the shared record out of the progress note.
Frequently asked questions
Progress notes vs process notes: what’s the difference?
Progress notes are the clinical record of the session: focus, interventions, risk, progress and plan. Process notes are a therapist’s private reflections on the session. Rules on how each is stored and shared differ between countries and services, so check what applies to you.
How does the tool handle risk?
It records only what you wrote about risk and never infers or changes a risk level. If your notes do not mention risk, the section says “Not documented”, so you can see that it is missing.
Does it work for any therapy model?
Yes. Name the techniques you used, whether CBT, psychodynamic, EMDR, ACT or another model, and the draft keeps your terms.
Is it free?
Yes. You can write up to 10 notes a day without an account.
Is it safe to paste client information?
Paste clinical details only, never names, ID numbers or contact details. The text is sent to our AI provider to write the note and is not saved by Docdemic.