A DAP note records a session in three parts. Data is what the client reported and what you observed. Assessment is your clinical interpretation of that information. Plan is what happens next. Write it soon after the session, keep interpretation out of the Data section, and make every plan item specific enough to act on.

DAP is the format clinicians reach for when SOAP feels like the wrong shape for talk therapy. Splitting a counselling session into "subjective" and "objective" rarely survives contact with the work, because almost everything in the room is reported experience. DAP collapses that split and leaves more room for the part that carries clinical weight: your reasoning. This guide covers each section, a worked example, a reusable template, and the Australian record-keeping obligations your notes have to satisfy.

What is a DAP note?

A DAP note is a progress note structured as Data, Assessment, Plan. It is used widely in counselling, psychology, social work, alcohol and other drug services, and case management, where session content is largely narrative and the documentation needs to show clinical reasoning rather than physical findings.

It sits in the same family as the other note formats: SOAP, BIRP and GIRP. They differ mainly in how they slice the same material. If you are still deciding which to standardise on, our comparison of clinical note types sets them side by side.

What goes in each section of a DAP note?

Data

Everything that happened, without your interpretation of it. That includes:

What the client reported: presenting concerns, changes since last session, significant events, and short direct quotes where the wording matters.
What you observed: presentation, affect, engagement, mental state, anything notable about how the session ran.
What you did: the interventions used and how the client responded.
Objective inputs: outcome measure scores, homework completion, collateral information, risk indicators disclosed or observed.

The discipline here is separation. "Client appeared anxious" is an interpretation wearing observation's clothing. "Client spoke rapidly, shifted position frequently, and declined to discuss the incident at work" is data. Save "anxious" for the Assessment.

Assessment

Your clinical thinking about the data. This section distinguishes a clinical record from a diary entry, and it is the first thing a reviewer, supervisor or court looks for. It should cover:

How you read the presentation, in the context of the formulation and the diagnosis where one applies.
Progress against treatment goals, stated against something measurable where possible.
Response to the interventions used, including what did not work.
Risk: your appraisal of it, not merely a note that it was discussed.

Assessment answers "so what". If a colleague read only this section, they should understand where the client is up to and why you are doing what you are doing.

Plan

What happens next, specific enough that someone else could carry it out. That means the intervention planned for next session, any tasks agreed with the client, referrals or letters to be sent, changes to session frequency, safety planning steps, review points for outcome measures, and the date of the next appointment. "Continue therapy" is not a plan. "Continue exposure hierarchy, starting at item 4; client to complete two 20-minute practices before next session; review PHQ-9 at session 8" is.

How do you write a DAP note, step by step?

Write it while the session is fresh. Same day, ideally within the hour. Detail decays fast, and reconstructed notes are where inaccuracies enter the record.
Draft the Data first, in the order the session ran. Do not editorialise as you write.
Move every interpretive word into the Assessment. Scan the Data for words such as manipulative, resistant, unmotivated, improved or anxious. Each is a conclusion, so relocate it and justify it.
Tie the Assessment to a goal. Name the treatment goal you are tracking and say where the client sits against it.
State risk explicitly, even when it is absent. "No suicidal ideation reported or observed; no change to risk rating" documents that you asked. Silence documents nothing.
Make the Plan actionable and dated. Each item needs an owner and, where relevant, a timeframe.
Reread it as someone else. If a colleague picked this client up tomorrow, would this note let them continue safely?

What does a DAP note look like?

A fictional example, from an individual session with an adult client in private practice:

Data: Client attended in person, on time, session 6 of 10. Reported two panic episodes since last session, both at the supermarket, lasting roughly 10 minutes. Described them as "less frightening than they used to be, but I still leave the trolley". Completed all four scheduled interoceptive exposure practices and brought the record sheet. GAD-7 administered today: 11, down from 16 at intake. Presented alert and oriented, spoke at a normal rate, made appropriate eye contact, and became tearful when discussing her father's admission to hospital last week. Session covered review of the exposure record, cognitive restructuring of the "I will collapse in public" prediction, and 15 minutes on her father's illness. Client declined an offer to extend supports at this stage.

Assessment: Panic symptoms continue to reduce, consistent with the GAD-7 change and with her sustained engagement in between-session practice, which supports the working formulation of catastrophic misinterpretation of bodily sensations. Avoidance behaviour persists in the form of leaving the trolley, so the safety behaviour rather than the panic itself is now the limiting factor on goal 2. Her father's hospitalisation is a new and significant stressor, and it may account for the tearfulness and for the modest rather than steep change in scores this fortnight. No suicidal ideation reported or observed on direct questioning; risk remains low and unchanged.

Plan: Next session, target the safety behaviour directly: exposure with response prevention in a supermarket setting, planned collaboratively. Client to complete three practices without leaving the trolley and to log her prediction and the outcome each time. Provide a psychoeducation handout on safety behaviours. Reassess GAD-7 at session 8. Monitor the impact of her father's illness and revisit supports if her presentation changes. Next appointment booked for 12/08/2026.

Reusable template:

Data: Attendance and session number. Client report since last session. Observations of presentation and mental state. Interventions delivered and response. Measures, homework, collateral, risk indicators.

Assessment: Clinical interpretation. Progress against named goals. Response to intervention. Risk appraisal.

Plan: Next intervention. Client tasks. Referrals or correspondence. Measures to review. Next appointment.

DAP notes or SOAP notes: which should you use?

SOAP separates subjective report from objective findings, which suits settings with examinations and test results. In psychotherapy that split is largely artificial, and clinicians end up filing everything under "subjective" while "objective" stays thin. DAP merges the two and keeps clinical reasoning in its own section, which is why it is common in counselling and community mental health.

Whichever you choose, pick one format per service and apply it consistently: a mixed record is harder to audit, hand over and search. Our mental health progress notes guide covers the broader documentation standards that apply either way.

What do Australian record-keeping rules require of a DAP note?

The format is your choice. The obligations are not.

Records must support continuity of care. The Psychology Board of Australia's code of conduct requires accurate, legible records reporting relevant clinical detail in a form another practitioner can understand and act on. A thin Assessment is where notes usually fail this test.
Clients can ask to read them. Under APP 12, individuals may request access to the personal information you hold about them, and access must be given unless an exception applies. Never write anything you could not defend to the person it describes.
You must keep them secure. APP 11 requires reasonable steps to protect records from misuse, loss, and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
You must keep them long enough. Retention is set by state law. In Victoria, Health Privacy Principle 4.2 of the Health Records Act 2001 permits deletion only after the later of seven years from the last health service provided, or, for information collected while the client was a child, the client turning 25. Check your own jurisdiction, and treat those periods as a floor.

What are the most common DAP note mistakes?

Interpretation smuggled into Data. The most common problem, and the one that undermines a note's credibility when it is read back.
An Assessment that only restates the Data. If the section could be deleted without losing information, it is not doing clinical work.
Plans nobody could execute. No owner, no timeframe, no specifics.
Risk mentioned but not appraised. "Discussed safety" records a topic, not a judgement.
Notes written days later in a batch. Accuracy drops, and evidentiary value drops with it.
Copying forward the previous note. Every session ends up looking identical, which is clinically useless and conspicuous under audit.

Can AI write DAP notes for you?

Ambient documentation tools can draft a structured note from the session itself, which removes most of the transcription burden. What they cannot do is form the clinical judgement in the Assessment section. Treat a generated note as a first draft: check that the Data reflects what happened, that the Assessment is genuinely yours, and that the Plan matches what you agreed with the client. You remain responsible for what sits in the record.

PractaLuma is AI-native practice management software for Australian mental-health practices, and its clinical notes feature drafts notes in your chosen format, DAP included, for you to review and sign. You can see what is included on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a DAP note be? Long enough to justify your clinical decisions and let a colleague continue care, which is usually 150 to 300 words for a routine session. Complexity, risk and significant change all warrant more.

Can I use DAP notes for group sessions? Yes, with care. Write a separate note for each participant covering their own data, assessment and plan, and avoid identifying other group members in an individual's record.

Do DAP notes work for case management and AOD work? They are widely used in both. The Data section handles contacts, referrals and observations well, and the Plan section maps neatly onto coordinated actions across services.

Are DAP notes the same as psychotherapy notes? No. DAP notes are clinical progress notes and form part of the client's health record. Private process notes are a separate category with different handling, as covered in our guide to progress note templates.

What if I realise a note was wrong after I signed it? Amend it rather than overwrite it. Add a dated correction that states what was wrong and what is accurate, so the record shows both the original entry and the amendment.

How to Write DAP Notes: Examples and Template