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SOAP vs. DAP notes: Which should you use?

Here’s how to decide which progress note-taking style is right for you.

Writing progress notes is an important part of your job as a therapist. Thankfully, you don’t have to stare at a blank page after each session. There are a variety of progress note-taking styles, all with templates that simplify the writing process. 

If you’re considering which types of progress notes you’re interested in using, read on. We’ve compared two popular styles of notes — SOAP and DAP notes — to help you decide which is right for you. 

Table of Contents

What are SOAP notes?

SOAP notes are a specific format for writing progress notes as a behavioral health clinician. They contain four primary sections, represented by its acronym: 

  • Subjective
  • Objective
  • Assessment
  • Plan

If you’re using a SOAP note template and filling out every section as directed, you should feel good about how your notes stack up to compliance expectations. Each section of a SOAP note is designed to help you document the most critical aspects of your session for compliance with insurance billing, including elements of a mental status exam and risk assessments.

How long is a SOAP note?

A SOAP note is typically concise, usually ranging from two to four paragraphs in length. The specific length can vary depending on complexity of the patient's condition, but therapists aim to be thorough yet succinct.

A SOAP note’s holistic approach naturally encourages you as a provider to collect comprehensive insight about your client and their treatment. And because SOAP notes are widely recognized and used in many different healthcare settings, other care providers can easily recognize and review your mental healthcare records to provide continuity of care for your clients. 

Headway’s built-in note-taking feature uses a SOAP note template, and includes one-click check boxes to help you fulfill the mental status exam and risk assessment on your notes.

What are DAP notes?

DAP notes are a specific format for writing progress notes as a behavioral health clinician. They contain three primary sections, represented by its acronym: 

  • Data
  • Assessment
  • Plan

DAP notes provide a very simple through line that helps you reflect on your progress with a client: Data is about what happened in the session, assessment is your clinical interpretation of the data, and the plan is where you chart a path forward for future sessions based on your assessment of this one. Each component directs your focus to capturing the most critical parts of your session. 

How long are DAP notes?

Typically, DAP notes are three paragraphs long, with one paragraph for each component of the format (data, assessment, and plan). The specific length can vary depending on complexity of the patient's condition, but therapists aim to be thorough yet succinct.

DAP notes vs. SOAP notes

SOAP notes and DAP notes are very similar. The primary difference is how the observations from the session are structured:

  • In a SOAP note (subjective, objective, assessment, plan), you’re encouraged to document subjective and objective observations separately, providing a distinction between the client’s and therapist’s perspectives.
  • In a DAP note, all of your observations are condensed into a “data” section that may weave together the client’s subjective remarks with the therapist’s own impressions of the client’s observable behaviors. 

Both include assessment and plan sections that prompt a clinician to reflect on their interpretation of the session and document how they’re proceeding with care.

Therapists tend to use the format they were trained on, and whichever one feels most authentic to their style and modality. Any of these can be insurance compliant and which one you use is generally a matter of personal preference.

When to choose a SOAP note

You might choose a SOAP note if you prefer more structure to your note taking, or if it’s important to dedicate space to monitoring specific symptoms from a clinically objective point of view.

SOAP notes can be great for medical or multidisciplinary settings where detailed, structured documentation is crucial for communicating treatment plans and client progress across providers. Learn how to write a SOAP note.

When to choose a DAP note

You might choose a DAP note if you prefer to take a more straightforward and efficient approach to documentation, focusing on the client’s data, your assessment, and the planned treatment without unnecessary complexity. With fewer sections, DAP notes may also be faster to complete than SOAP notes, for example, for some providers.

“I might not recommend DAP notes for a newer therapist, because in that case structure is a good thing,” says Natalia Tague, a licensed counselor in Virginia. “If you're more experienced and you’d prefer a shorter format, then maybe DAP is for you.” Learn how to write a DAP note.

Tips for writing SOAP notes and DAP notes

  • A good rule of thumb is to plan for 5 to 7 minutes to write your progress notes. Try to fit them in between sessions as you’re able, so you don’t end every day with hours of catching up. “Learning how to write concise but accurate notes is such an important skill, just for your own self care as a provider,” Tague says.
  • Comprehensiveness is more important than length. “I’ve seen notes that are literally two sentences per section and they’re great, and then there are notes with four or five sentences for each and they still haven’t covered what they needed to cover,” Tague says.
  • Don’t stress about documenting every single thing that happened in session. For insurance purposes, focus on including the information that supports the client’s diagnosis, and substantiates the ongoing need for treatment and the approach you are using.

Use Headway’s progress note templates

While there are many options for documentation, Headway's in-product templates are designed to make note-taking fast and efficient, all while helping to take out the guesswork. 

Plus, our templates are included at no additional cost for Headway providers.  

Headway’s team and tools are here to make everything about working with insurance companies (including compliance!) as easy as possible.  

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