Free template

GIRP note template for therapy sessions

By Albert Wong, PhD, Clinical Psychologist

GIRP — Goal, Intervention, Response, Plan — is the goal-first sibling of BIRP. Every progress note is supposed to connect the session to the treatment plan; GIRP is the only common format that makes the connection structural. The note opens by naming the plan goal the session served, then documents what you did about it, how the client responded, and what comes next. Read a chart of GIRP notes top to bottom and the arc of treatment is simply visible — which is what a utilization reviewer is paid to look for, and what a clinician six months from now will thank you for.

Choose GIRP when your setting emphasizes treatment-plan fidelity, when you bill payers that audit for goal linkage, or when your own notes have drifted from the plan and you want the format to hold you to it. If you prefer opening with the client's presentation instead, BIRP is the same structure behavior-first; the format overview compares all four common formats.

The template

Plain text — paste into any EHR or document

GIRP PROGRESS NOTE

Client name: ____________________   Date of service: ____________
Start / end time: _______________   CPT code: ____________
Clinician: ______________________   Location / modality: ____________

G — GOAL
The treatment plan goal(s) this session addressed.
- Goal / objective from the treatment plan worked on today (quote or
  paraphrase it — the note should connect to the plan on its face):
- Client's current status toward that goal, including how they
  presented and what they reported today:
- Measure scores administered today, if any:

I — INTERVENTION
What YOU did this session in service of that goal — specific and
named.
- Therapeutic interventions used (e.g., cognitive restructuring,
  exposure work, skills training, psychoeducation):
- How each intervention connects to the goal above:

R — RESPONSE
How the client responded to those interventions.
- In-session response (engagement, skill uptake, insight, affect
  shift):
- Movement toward or away from the goal observed today:
- Barriers or resistance observed:

P — PLAN
- Interventions planned for next session and remaining objectives:
- Homework or between-session practice assigned:
- Risk assessment (suicidal or homicidal ideation: denied /
  present — if present, document assessment and action taken):
- Treatment plan changes needed (or none):
- Next appointment:

Clinician signature / credentials: ____________  Date signed: ________

A filled example

"Jamie A." is a fictional client — every detail below is invented and deliberately generic. Never copy identifying details from real charts into templates or samples.

Fictional example — for structure, not content

GIRP PROGRESS NOTE — FILLED EXAMPLE (fictional client)

Client name: Jamie A. (fictional)   Date of service: 03/12/2026
Start / end time: 09:00 - 09:52     CPT code: 90834
Clinician: D. Whitfield, LCSW       Location / modality: Telehealth (video)

G — GOAL
Treatment plan goal 2: "Increase use of assertive communication in
work and family situations, from 0 to at least 2 self-reported
instances per week, by 06/01/2026." Jamie attended on time from a
private room, engaged and in good spirits, and reported one assertive
exchange this week — asking a coworker to reschedule a meeting —
rating the anxiety beforehand 6/10 and afterward 3/10.

I — INTERVENTION
Reviewed the week's communication log against goal 2. Guided a
role-play of an upcoming conversation with a family member about
holiday plans, modeling and rehearsing "I" statements. Provided
corrective feedback and had Jamie repeat the rehearsal with a
firmer opening line.

R — RESPONSE
Jamie engaged fully in both rehearsals and self-corrected in the
second pass without prompting. Identified the anticipatory anxiety as
"worse than the actual conversation," unprompted — consistent with
the pattern discussed in prior sessions. Progress toward goal 2:
1 of 2 target instances this week, up from 0 at baseline. No
barriers observed beyond reported anticipatory anxiety.

P — PLAN
Continue weekly individual sessions, telehealth. Homework: have the
rehearsed conversation before next session and log one additional
assertive exchange of Jamie's choosing. Next session: debrief both;
begin generalizing to unplanned situations. Denied suicidal and
homicidal ideation; no risk indicators observed. No treatment plan
changes needed at this time.
Next appointment: 03/19/2026, 09:00.

Clinician signature / credentials: D. Whitfield, LCSW   Date signed: 03/12/2026

What makes GIRP work — or collapse

The goal must be real and current. GIRP is only as good as the treatment plan behind it — goals with numbers and dates give the Response section something to measure against. Our treatment plan template covers writing goals and objectives that notes can actually report on.
Response states movement, not attendance. "1 of 2 target instances this week, up from 0 at baseline" is progress documentation; "client participated well" is not. Periodic scores help — the free PHQ-9 / GAD-7 scorer turns symptom change into a number.
Plan closes the loop to billing and the chart. Note the next objective, the homework, the risk statement, and whether the plan itself needs updating. The CPT code should match the documented session — the CPT code picker covers the common psychotherapy codes and time thresholds.

Practice Harbor's note templates support goal-linked formats like GIRP, with AI drafting that writes the first draft from your session for you to review, edit, and sign.

Common questions

What is the difference between GIRP and BIRP?

Only the opening section. BIRP opens with Behavior — how the client presented and what they reported. GIRP opens with the treatment plan Goal the session addressed, and folds the presentation into it. The practical effect is that a GIRP note demonstrates the session-to-plan connection in its first line, which is exactly the linkage utilization reviewers check for. If your notes tend to drift from the treatment plan, GIRP makes that drift impossible to hide — from an auditor, and usefully, from you.

Which goal do I write in the G section?

A real one from the client’s current treatment plan — quoted or closely paraphrased, ideally with its number ("Goal 2: increase assertive communication..."). The G section is not the place for a session-level aspiration invented on the spot; its entire value is the audit trail back to the plan. If you find yourself unable to name a plan goal the session served, that is diagnostic — see the next question.

What if the session didn’t address any treatment plan goal?

It happens legitimately — a crisis erupts, a major life event lands, something new emerges. Document what actually occurred: name the presenting issue, the interventions you used, and the response, and note explicitly that the session addressed an acute concern outside the current plan. Then decide whether it was a one-off or a pattern. If the same "off-plan" theme shows up two or three sessions running, the treatment plan is out of date — update it, since ongoing treatment is justified by the plan.

Do the goals have to be measurable?

The note format does not require it, but everything downstream works better when they are. "Reduce anxiety" gives a GIRP note nothing to report progress against; "reduce GAD-7 score from 14 to below 10" or "from 0 to 2 assertive exchanges per week" lets the Response section state movement as fact. Measurability is set where goals are written — the treatment plan — so the real fix lives there; see our treatment plan template for how to structure goals and objectives.

Is GIRP accepted by insurance?

Yes. Payers require documentation of medical necessity — a covered service, delivered on a date, with interventions, response, and a forward plan — not a named format. GIRP, if anything, over-delivers on one thing payers specifically look for: the visible connection between each session and the treatment plan. As always, an agency or a specific contract can impose its own documentation standard, so check yours; absent that, format is your choice.

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This template and guidance are general clinical-documentation education, not legal advice. Documentation requirements vary by state, license type, agency policy, and payer contract — check yours.

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