GIRP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder: Template + Examples (2026)
Overview
The GIRP Notes format provides an excellent structure for documenting Borderline Personality Disorder because it separates subjective experience from objective observations while emphasizing clinical assessment and planning. When working with clients presenting with Borderline Personality Disorder, the key is to document how the specific symptoms, behavioral patterns, and treatment responses are understood through the lens of this particular format.
Each section of the GIRP Notes note should serve a specific purpose when documenting Borderline Personality Disorder. Rather than generic descriptions, each section should contain clinical information that directly relates to the diagnostic criteria, treatment indicators, and progress measures relevant to Borderline Personality Disorder. This requires understanding both how the format works and what aspects of Borderline Personality Disorder are most important to capture for insurance justification, treatment planning, and clinical decision-making.
Documentation quality matters significantly when treating Borderline Personality Disorder. Insurance companies need to see clear evidence of medical necessity, meaningful progress on treatment goals, and appropriate use of evidence-based interventions. The GIRP Notes structure, when properly applied to Borderline Personality Disorder, communicates this clinical picture clearly and compliantly.
How to Document GIRP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Goals
Document current treatment goals, client's goals for this session, and progress toward established objectives
When documenting goals for borderline personality disorder, specify targeted areas for emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and reduction of maladaptive behaviors. Goals should reflect measurable steps toward stabilizing mood swings and improving self-identity.
- Establish goals to enhance emotional regulation skills to reduce intensity and frequency of mood swings.
- Set objectives to improve interpersonal relationships by addressing fear of abandonment and impulsivity.
- Define goals aimed at reducing self-harming behaviors and suicidal ideation.
- Incorporate development of a more stable and coherent sense of self as a treatment aim.
- Create measurable goals to increase distress tolerance and coping strategies during crises.
Intervention
Record specific interventions applied to address identified goals and advance treatment
In the intervention section for borderline personality disorder, document specific therapeutic techniques and modalities applied to address core symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, identity disturbance, and interpersonal conflict. Include clinical observations regarding client engagement and symptom expression.
- Utilized Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) techniques including mindfulness and distress tolerance skills training.
- Applied cognitive restructuring to challenge black-and-white thinking patterns and maladaptive beliefs.
- Engaged in validation strategies to acknowledge client’s emotional experience and reduce defensiveness.
- Monitored and documented instances of splitting behavior or idealization/devaluation during session.
- Implemented crisis intervention techniques tailored to manage self-harm urges or suicidal ideation.
Response
Note the client's response to goal-focused work, progress indicators, and barriers to goal achievement
Document the client’s clinical response to interventions, noting progress in symptom management, insight development, and behavioral changes. Include observations of client’s emotional state, willingness to participate, and any diagnostic reconsiderations based on emerging patterns.
- Noted increased ability to identify and label emotions compared to previous sessions.
- Observed reduction in impulsive verbal outbursts or self-destructive statements during therapy.
- Client demonstrated improved insight into patterns of unstable relationships and abandonment fears.
- Reported decreased frequency of self-harming urges since initiation of skills training.
- Clinical impression indicates emerging stabilization of mood but persistent identity diffusion.
Plan
Specify action steps, revised goals if needed, and timeline for goal achievement
Outline next steps including continued skill-building, targeted homework assignments, potential adjustments to treatment approach, and coordination of care to support stabilization and symptom reduction in borderline personality disorder.
- Assign homework to practice DBT emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness skills daily.
- Plan to increase frequency of sessions during periods of heightened suicidality or crisis.
- Coordinate referral to psychiatry for medication evaluation to address mood instability if needed.
- Modify treatment plan to incorporate trauma-focused therapy if trauma history impacts current symptoms.
- Schedule follow-up assessment to monitor progress on self-identity and relationship goals.
SOAP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
DAP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
BIRP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
Progress Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
SIRP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
PIE Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Alternative format for documenting borderline personality disorder
Tips for GIRP Notes for Borderline Personality Disorder
Connect to Diagnostic Criteria
Always link your observations and interventions back to the specific diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. If you're documenting generalized anxiety disorder, reference the specific DSM-5 criteria. If you're documenting major depressive disorder, show evidence of the required number of depressive symptoms. This demonstrates clear clinical reasoning and justifies continued treatment.
Use Quantifiable Measurements
Don't simply write "Borderline Personality Disorder improving." Instead, use rating scales (0-10 severity scales, PHQ-9 scores, GAD-7 scores, etc.) to show concrete progress. Document specific behavioral changes: "Client reported anxiety decreased from 8/10 to 6/10 when discussing social situations," or "Depressive symptoms reduced by 3 points on PHQ-9."
Document Functional Impact
Show how Borderline Personality Disorder affects the client's daily functioning. Insurance requires evidence of functional impairment to justify treatment. Document specific impacts: "Unable to attend work meetings due to anxiety," or "Staying in bed until 2 PM due to depressed mood." Then show how treatment addresses these functional limitations.
Track Intervention Specificity
Rather than vague interventions, be specific about what you did and why. For Borderline Personality Disorder, document: "Taught progressive muscle relaxation for anxiety management," or "Assigned behavioral activation with goal to schedule one pleasant activity daily." Show how each intervention targets the specific symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Demonstrate Treatment Progress
Connect each session to overall treatment goals for Borderline Personality Disorder. Show how this session moved the client forward. Document barriers encountered and your response: "Client engaged in avoidance despite exposure assignment. Explored ambivalence about facing feared situations. Adjusted timeline."
Note Comorbidities
Clients with Borderline Personality Disorder often have other conditions. Document any comorbid diagnoses and how they interact. For example: "Client's Borderline Personality Disorder is complicated by concurrent depression, which reduces treatment response. Added behavioral activation to address depressive symptoms alongside anxiety-specific exposure work."
Master GIRP Notes Documentation
Let AI handle the structural formatting and organization while you focus on what matters: your clinical work and client care. Mental Note AI generates properly formatted notes in seconds, right in Microsoft Word.
Try for Free in WordReady to Write Better Notes Faster?
Join thousands of mental health professionals who trust Mental Note AI to handle their documentation.
Try for Free in WordNo credit card required. Works directly in Microsoft Word. Starts generating notes in seconds.
Further Reading
- DSM-5-TR — Provides the official diagnostic criteria and clinical descriptions for Borderline Personality Disorder essential for accurate documentation.
- APA Documentation Guidelines — Offers best practices for clinical documentation, including structured note formats relevant to mental health conditions like BPD.
- SAMHSA — Contains resources on behavioral health treatment and documentation standards applicable to personality disorders.