A session note template isn’t about paperwork — it’s about being able to walk into the next session prepared instead of reconstructing context from memory in the 30 seconds before the client arrives.
Below are six ready-to-use templates for different types of therapy work. Each can be copied directly and adapted to your practice. Every template includes a complete filled example.
How to use these templates
Templates are a starting point, not a cage. Add fields that matter for your work. Remove what isn’t relevant. The key: use a consistent structure across all clients within the same modality — that’s what makes notes readable and comparable over time.
Risk assessment goes in every note. Even one line. Even when risk is absent. “No suicidal ideation — confirmed by direct inquiry” is enough.
Template 1. CBT Session
Date: Session #:
Client (initials): Duration:
SESSION AGENDA
What was planned for today:
PREVIOUS HOMEWORK
Completed: yes / partially / no
What worked, what didn't:
MAIN WORK
Automatic thought (verbatim):
Trigger situation:
Emotion + intensity (0–10):
Cognitive distortion:
Alternative thought / outcome:
PROGRESS TRACKING
PHQ-9 / GAD-7 (if administered today): Subjective rating (0–10):
RISK ASSESSMENT
Suicidal ideation:
HOMEWORK (next session)
Task:
Success criterion:
NEXT SESSION
Focus:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Session: 9 | Client: K.M. | Duration: 50 min
Agenda: work anxiety, avoidance pattern around deadlines
Previous homework: partially completed — kept thought diary 4 of 7 days. Harder on weekends (“I’m home anyway, what’s the point”).
Main work: Automatic thought: “If I make a mistake, I’ll get fired” Trigger: report deadline on Friday Emotion: fear (8/10), shame (6/10) Distortion: catastrophizing, mind-reading Alternative: “I rarely make mistakes. Even if I do, that’s not grounds for termination.” Believability: 5/10 (“I understand it but don’t feel it yet” — normalized)
Progress: PHQ-9 = 11 (was 16 at intake). Subjective: 5/10.
Risk: No suicidal ideation — confirmed by direct inquiry.
Homework: ABC diary every day, minimum 1 entry. Criterion: 7 of 7.
Next session: explore the belief “mistake = catastrophe” — where does it come from?
Template 2. Psychodynamic Session
Date: Session #:
Client (initials): Duration:
SESSION ENTRY
Client's state at the start (affect, energy, what they brought):
SESSION PROCESS
Central theme that emerged:
Defenses observed (intellectualization / projection / displacement / denial / other):
Transference material (if present):
Countertransference (therapist's reaction — brief):
Recurring themes / patterns:
Exact phrases worth preserving:
WHAT REMAINED UNSPOKEN
Avoided topics, silences, redirections:
RISK ASSESSMENT
Suicidal ideation:
NOTES FOR NEXT SESSION
What to return to:
Hypotheses to hold:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Session: 21 | Client: A.V. | Duration: 55 min
Entry: Quiet, slightly flat. “Nothing much happened this week” — immediate marker.
Process: Theme: relationship with mother — emerged through a slip (“we decided… I mean, she decided”). Defenses: rationalization (“she’s just trying her best, I know”), retroflection (anger at mother turned inward → “I’m probably too demanding”). Transference: none overt today. Client seems to be testing whether it’s safe to be angry here. Countertransference: I felt a pull to reassure her — held it, stayed curious instead. Recurring: this is the third session where anger appears and immediately gets redirected. Phrases: “I always go quiet and then get angry at myself.” “She does try, I know.”
Unspoken: what she actually wants from the relationship with her mother. She circled it twice and pulled back.
Risk: No suicidal ideation.
Next session: return to “I go quiet and then get angry at myself.” Hypothesis: retroflection as learned prohibition on anger — likely family-of-origin rule. Don’t push, let it come.
Template 3. EMDR Session
Date: Session #:
Client (initials): Duration:
EMDR Phase:
TARGET
Memory / image:
Negative cognition (NC):
Positive cognition (PC):
Validity of cognition (VOC, 1–7):
Subjective units of distress (SUD, 0–10):
Body location of distress:
PROCESSING
Number of BLS sets:
Processing notes (key associations, channels, what emerged):
SUD at end of processing:
VOC at end (if installation reached):
SESSION CLOSE
Processing complete: yes / no (incomplete)
If no — containment technique used:
SUD at close:
Exit stability:
RISK ASSESSMENT
Suicidal ideation:
BETWEEN-SESSION GUIDANCE
(Stabilization only — no trauma processing between sessions)
NEXT SESSION
Continue same target: yes / no
Focus:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Session: 8 | Client: D.W. | Duration: 55 min Phase: 4 (Desensitization)
Target: moment of impact in car accident (March 2024) — image of windshield shattering NC: “I should have reacted faster” PC: “I reacted as fast as anyone could” VOC: 2/7 | SUD: 8/10 | Body: chest tightness, jaw clenching
Processing: 4 BLS sets. After set 2: tearful; image of the other driver’s face (“I never let myself think about him”). Stayed with that. After set 4: SUD reduced to 4/10. Chest loosened slightly, jaw still tense.
Close: Incomplete — time constraint. Container: “safe box” visualization (10 min). SUD at close: 2/10. Client calm, oriented, affect appropriate. Confirmed safe to drive.
Risk: No suicidal ideation — confirmed by direct inquiry. Protective factors stable.
Between-session: If nightmares occur — grounding (5-4-3-2-1), no engaging with content.
Next session: Same target. Re-check SUD and VOC at start. Goal: SUD ≤1 before moving to installation.
Template 4. Supportive Therapy Session
Date: Session #:
Client (initials): Duration:
SESSION ENTRY
How client describes the week:
Subjective wellbeing rating (0–10):
MAIN THEME
What was discussed:
Key phrases (verbatim):
COPING AND RESOURCES
What helped since last session:
What was difficult:
Social support (any changes):
INTERVENTIONS
What was used (validation / psychoeducation / problem-solving / other):
RISK ASSESSMENT
Suicidal ideation:
AGREEMENTS
Before next session:
NEXT SESSION
Focus / what to monitor:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Session: 22 | Client: N.S. | Duration: 50 min
Entry: “Not bad, but anxious — my sister is visiting this weekend.” 5/10.
Theme: upcoming visit, old pattern of “I have to host, be cheerful, make everyone comfortable.” Phrase: “I’m already exhausted and she hasn’t even arrived yet.”
Coping: daily walks helped. Difficult: Wednesday — anxiety with no clear trigger, managed with breathing (noted this with some satisfaction — progress from two months ago).
Interventions: validated “pre-emptive exhaustion.” Collaboratively explored what she could skip from her usual hosting list. She named three things herself.
Risk: No suicidal ideation.
Agreements: choose one of the three things and not do it during the visit.
Next session: how the visit went. Track: did she manage to not do at least one thing?
Template 5. Crisis Session
Date: Session #:
Client (initials): Duration:
Type: scheduled / emergency
HOW CLIENT PRESENTED
How they made contact:
State at arrival:
SUD at entry (0–10):
Dissociation: yes / no / brief episode:
WHAT HAPPENED
Trigger (event / image / thought):
Suicidal ideation: passive / active / none
If present: plan / intent / means access:
CRISIS WORK
1. Technique: Outcome:
2. Technique: Outcome:
3. Technique: Outcome:
SUD after stabilization:
RISK ASSESSMENT
Final assessment: low / moderate / high
Protective factors:
Safety measures taken (if any):
SESSION EXIT
Client's state at close:
Who is with them / transport:
Between-session contact plan:
PLAN
Next session (date):
Frequency until stable:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Session: 12 | Client: T.R. | Duration: 60 min (extended) Type: emergency (client called 30 min early)
Entry: Visibly shaking, unfocused gaze. SUD: 9/10. Brief dissociative episode on arrival (~2 min). Triggered by news footage of a building collapse — combat memories (client is a veteran).
Trigger: news footage. Passive SI: “sometimes I think it would be easier not to be here” — no plan, no intent. Means access: firearm given to brother 3 weeks ago (documented session 9).
Crisis work:
- Grounding 5-4-3-2-1 (5 min) → restored eye contact
- Breathing 4-7-8 (5 min) → SUD: 9 → 7
- Safe place visualization (10 min) → SUD: 7 → 5 Psychoeducation: sensory triggers and trauma memory — client visibly relieved: “I thought I was losing it.”
Risk: Moderate, contained. Protective factors: brother available, engaged in therapy, no current means access. Safety: client will text when home.
Exit: partner picked up by car (arranged by phone during session). SUD: 3/10. Calm, oriented.
Plan: next session Tuesday (3 days). No trauma processing — stabilization and baseline assessment only.
Template 6. Intake / First Session
Date:
Client (initials): Age:
PRESENTING CONCERN
In client's own words (verbatim):
When it started or worsened:
Why seeking help now, not earlier:
HISTORY
Timeline:
Similar episodes in the past:
What has already been tried:
LIFE CONTEXT
Work / study:
Relationships / family:
Significant changes in the past year:
Social support:
PSYCHIATRIC AND MEDICAL HISTORY
Previous therapy or psychiatry:
Current medications:
Suicidal ideation / self-harm — past and present:
Substance use:
RESOURCES AND STRENGTHS
What helps in difficult moments:
What the client sees as their strengths:
STANDARDIZED MEASURES
PHQ-9: GAD-7: Other:
PRELIMINARY HYPOTHESES
(Your initial clinical impressions)
RISK ASSESSMENT
Overall assessment:
AGREEMENTS
Format: Frequency:
Initial goals:Filled example:
Date: 05/21/2026 | Client: M.K. | Age: 31
Presenting concern: “I’m anxious all the time, I can’t relax. Even at home — like I’m waiting for something to go wrong.” Worsened 4 months ago after a job change. Why now: “A friend said this isn’t normal anymore. She’s probably right.”
History: anxiety “her whole life” but manageable. Now: constant background fear, sleep onset 1.5–2 hours, irritability. Similar during university exams. Saw a neurologist — diagnosed “autonomic dysfunction,” prescribed magnesium.
Context: new job with high responsibility, managing a team for the first time. Partner (3 years) — “supportive but doesn’t really get why I need this.” Lives away from family.
Medical: taking magnesium. No SI, ever. Alcohol: rare, social.
Resources: yoga (2 years, currently not going — “no time”), keeps a journal. Describes herself as “an organized person.”
Measures: PHQ-9 = 8 (mild), GAD-7 = 14 (moderate anxiety).
Hypotheses: GAD presentation likely tied to new role demands and elevated performance expectations. High standards + uncertainty = chronic stress response. Resources exist but are currently inactive. Look at perfectionism and the control-safety link.
Risk: Low.
Agreements: weekly sessions, CBT-oriented. Initial goal (8 sessions): reduce baseline anxiety, restore sleep, re-engage coping practices.
What makes a template actually useful
Consistency. A template used the same way every time creates a timeline you can actually read — not a collection of differently formatted documents.
Specificity. “Discussed anxiety” is not a note. “Automatic thought: ‘if I make one mistake everything falls apart,’ intensity 9/10, client self-identified the catastrophizing” is a note.
Immediate completion. A note written 10 minutes after a session is worth ten times more than one written the next day. Memory fades fast — especially emotional texture and exact phrasing.
Risk documentation every time. One line. Every session. Non-negotiable.
TheraMemory keeps all session notes in a single client timeline — open the record before a session and see the last note, any scale scores, and your own preparation notes. No folders, no scrolling through long documents.
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