DAP Notes for Narrative Therapy: Template + Examples (2026)
Overview
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Short answer: a DAP note for narrative therapy has three parts. Data: what the client reported (the problem story and its effects, any unique outcomes, in their words where it helps), what you observed, any scores, and the narrative practices you used, such as externalizing conversations, re-authoring or re-membering. Assessment: your clinical interpretation of that data: symptoms and function, how the client’s relationship to the problem is changing, progress on goals and suicide risk. Plan: the next session focus, any therapeutic documents or tasks, and when you will repeat measures.
Narrative therapy names the problem as separate from the person, so notes often use the client’s own name for the problem (“the Guilt”). Keep that language in Data, and in Assessment translate it into clinical terms: the diagnosis, the symptoms still present and how function is changing. That keeps the note true to the approach and readable for payers and other clinicians.
What to document in a DAP note for narrative therapy
| Section | What to document | Example wording |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Client report of the problem story and its effects, unique outcomes, observations, scores, and the narrative practices used | “Said ‘the Guilt’ tells him he should have noticed his wife was ill sooner. PG-13-R 36 (41 at intake). Re-membering conversation about his wife.” |
| Assessment | Interpretation: diagnosis, symptoms and function, change in the client’s relationship to the problem, progress and risk | “Prolonged grief disorder, improving; guilt still drives avoidance of shared friends; acute risk low.” |
| Plan | Next session focus, therapeutic documents or tasks, and repeat measures | “Read the letter aloud at his son’s visit; PG-13-R every two sessions.” |
Safety. Grief and loss can bring thoughts of wanting to be with the person who died. Ask directly and record the answer. If a client reports suicidal thoughts, assess and record current thoughts, plan, intent, preparatory behavior, past attempts, access to means (including firearms and medications), protective factors, your risk formulation and the safety plan. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts at 988; for imminent danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
How to Document DAP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Data
Combine subjective reports and objective observations into a single data section
In Data, record the client’s reports and brief quotes, your observations and measure scores, the narrative interventions you used and the client’s observed or reported response. Keep diagnostic and progress interpretation for Assessment.
- Client’s description of dominant problem-saturated stories and how they manifest in daily life
- Reported emotional responses and mood fluctuations related to identified narratives
- Specific triggers or situations that activate problem narratives
- Client’s expressed values or beliefs that interact with or contradict problem stories
- Noted shifts or inconsistencies in affect or tone when discussing particular life events or themes
Assessment
Provide clinical analysis, treatment progress, and diagnostic considerations
In Assessment, interpret the reports, observations and interventions recorded in Data: the diagnosis, symptoms, functioning, progress toward goals and risk, and what the client’s response to narrative work means clinically.
- Observation of client’s ability to externalize and separate self from the problem
- Clinical impression of dominant narratives’ impact on client’s identity and functioning
- Clinical interpretation of the client’s response to re-authoring or unique-outcome exploration, linked to symptoms, function and goals
- Evaluation of client’s emotional and cognitive shifts during story unpacking or re-storying
- Assessment of client’s engagement level and openness to alternative storylines
Plan
Document next steps, interventions, and follow-up scheduling
The Plan section in narrative therapy should outline the next therapeutic steps aimed at strengthening alternative narratives, including homework assignments, adjustments to therapeutic focus, referrals, and scheduling of future sessions.
- Assigning narrative-based homework such as journaling alternative story moments or identifying exceptions to problem narratives
- Planning to introduce or reinforce specific narrative techniques in the next session (e.g., externalization, mapping influence of the problem)
- Adjusting treatment focus based on client’s progress with re-authoring process
- Making referrals to support services that align with client’s preferred narratives or values
- Scheduling follow-up sessions to review narrative shifts and consolidate new meanings
SOAP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
BIRP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
Progress Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
SIRP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
GIRP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
PIE Notes for Narrative Therapy
Alternative format for documenting narrative therapy
Example DAP note for narrative therapy (prolonged grief)
Fictional documentation example, not treatment guidance. Every detail is invented. Adapt it to the session you actually provided and your organization’s requirements.
Session details: Fictional adult client, 66, prolonged grief disorder (F43.81) after his wife died of cancer 18 months ago. Session 7 of weekly narrative therapy, 50 minutes, in person. Treatment-plan goals: (1) resume one shared activity with friends each week; (2) PG-13-R below 30.
Data: Client said “the Guilt” (his name for it) tells him he should have noticed his wife was ill sooner, and keeps him away from the couples they used to see. He has declined 3 invitations this month. He described one unique outcome: he made her soup recipe for his son and “for a minute it felt like she was in the kitchen.” Asked directly: reports a passive wish on Sunday that he “could just be with her,” but no wish to die and no thoughts of killing himself today; denies active suicidal thoughts since the last session, any plan, intent or preparatory behavior, and past attempts. No firearms at home; his medications are in an unlocked kitchen cupboard, with no stockpiling reported. Drinks 2 glasses of wine most evenings (unchanged). Names his son and his faith as reasons for living and can describe how he would use his safety plan if the thoughts return. PG-13-R: 36 (41 at intake). Appearance neat; affect sad and tearful when talking about her illness, warmer when talking about the soup; speech normal; thought process linear; no psychotic symptoms. Interventions: externalizing conversation mapping the effects of the Guilt on his friendships and sleep; re-membering conversation about what his wife valued in him and what she would say about the months he cared for her; client began a letter to her in session, with the therapist writing down his words.
Assessment: Prolonged grief disorder, improving: PG-13-R down 5 points since intake and still above the cut-off of 30. Guilt about her illness, and avoidance of the friends they shared, maintain his grief and isolation (goal 1 not yet met). The soup moment and the re-membering conversation show he can hold a connection with his wife that is not only about her death; this is a shift in session, and change in his week is not yet seen. Evening drinking is unchanged and worth monitoring. Suicide risk formulation: risk factors include bereavement, age, living alone, passive wishes to be with his wife and nightly alcohol; protective factors include his son, his faith, engagement in treatment, no past attempts, no intent or plan and no firearms. Acute risk judged low on today’s assessment, given no current suicidal thoughts, plan, intent or preparatory behavior and his ability to use coping and help-seeking steps; bereavement, isolation, alcohol and access to medication remain ongoing concerns. Reassess every session, and sooner if the thoughts return or intensify.
Plan: Continue weekly narrative therapy; next session, invite the son as an outsider witness if the client agrees. Client chose to finish the letter and read it to his son at their Sunday visit, and to accept one invitation from friends. Repeat PG-13-R every two sessions. Completed a written safety plan with him (warning signs, coping steps, his son, clinical and crisis contacts); copy given. Discussed how alcohol can affect judgment; review use next session. With his consent, his son will help move medications to safer storage, and the clinician will confirm this at a check-in within 48 hours. Client will contact the clinician promptly if the wish to be with his wife returns or grows stronger. Client knows to call or text 988 in a crisis and to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department for imminent danger.
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Tips for DAP Notes for Narrative Therapy
Keep the client’s name for the problem
Use the externalized name in Data, in quotes, then translate it into clinical terms in Assessment so other readers understand it.
Record unique outcomes
Note times the problem had less influence, in concrete terms. They are the material for re-authoring and evidence of change.
Name the narrative practice
Write “externalizing conversation,” “re-authoring” or “re-membering conversation,” with a line on what it covered, so the skilled intervention is clear.
Interpret in Assessment, not Data
Put what happened in Data and your clinical judgment in Assessment: diagnosis, symptoms, function and progress on goals.
Add a measure that fits the problem
Pair the narrative with a brief scale, such as the PG-13-R for prolonged grief or the PHQ-9 for depression, repeated over time.
File therapeutic documents carefully
If you write letters or certificates with the client, note them in the Plan and follow your records policy for keeping copies.
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Further Reading
- APA Documentation Guidelines — Provides detailed guidance on clinical documentation practices relevant to psychological therapies, including narrative approaches.
- SAMHSA — Offers resources and best practices for behavioral health documentation and treatment planning.
- NASW (Social Workers) — Contains ethical standards and documentation guidelines applicable to social work and narrative therapy.