DARP Notes: Format, Examples & Free Template
A DARP note is a progress note with four labeled sections: Data, Assessment (or Action, in nursing), Response, and Plan. It’s a DAP note plus an explicit Response section that records how the client reacted to your intervention. Therapists, nurses, and social workers use DARP when the chain from intervention to response needs to be visible at a glance.
Skip ahead to the blank DARP template if that’s all you need. It’s free, no email required, in PDF and DOCX.
What Does DARP Stand For?
DARP stands for Data, Assessment, Response, Plan in therapy and social work, and Data, Action, Response, Plan in most nursing settings. Each letter is a labeled section of the note. Data holds the facts, A holds your interpretation or intervention, Response holds the client’s reaction, and Plan holds the next steps. The structure forces the note to show its work: what you saw, what you made of it or did about it, what happened, and what comes next.
Section | What it captures | Example line |
|---|---|---|
D: Data | What the client said and what you observed. Facts only. | “Client reported sleeping 4-5 hours nightly; leg bouncing throughout session.” |
A: Assessment (therapy, social work) or Action (nursing) | Your clinical interpretation of the data (in nursing, the interventions you carried out). | “Presentation remains consistent with generalized anxiety; engagement with CBT tasks is improving.” |
R: Response | How the client reacted to the intervention, in their words and your observations. | “Belief rating dropped from 85% to 40% after evidence review; client’s posture visibly relaxed.” |
P: Plan | Concrete next steps, homework, referrals, and when you will reassess. | “Daily thought record; introduce worry-time experiment next session; next appointment in one week.” |
D: Data
What goes here: everything observable and reportable. The client’s own words (quote sparingly), your behavioral observations, attendance, measures, scores, and vitals where relevant. If you keep a structured mental status exam cheat sheet habit, its output belongs here.
No interpretation, though. “Client appeared restless, stood twice during session” is Data. “Client was resistant” is a judgment that belongs in Assessment, phrased tentatively, if it belongs anywhere.
A: Assessment (or Action)
In therapy and social work, this is your clinical reasoning: progress against goals, patterns across sessions, risk indicators, a working formulation. In nursing, it’s the specific interventions you performed during the contact. See the next section for how to choose between the two readings.
Tentative language earns its keep here. “Presentation consistent with…” and “symptoms suggest…” survive an audit and a subpoena better than diagnostic pronouncements, and they respect the limits of a single data point.
R: Response
The client’s reaction to what you did: a quote, a changed rating, a behavioral shift, a vital sign. This section is DARP’s whole reason to exist, and it’s the one DAP lacks.
One caution. The Response belongs to the client, not to you. “Session went well” is your opinion; “client said the reframe ‘actually makes sense’ and asked to repeat the exercise at home” is a response.
P: Plan
The next concrete steps: homework assigned, referrals made, medication follow-up, safety planning, when you will reassess, and the date and focus of the next contact.
“Continue therapy” is not a plan. Name the step, the owner, and the timeframe.
Does the A Stand for Assessment or Action?
Both, depending on where you work, and the ambiguity trips people up in DARP charting all the time. Mental health clinicians typically read A as Assessment: the interpretive bridge between the facts and the plan. Nurses typically read it as Action, inherited from focus charting’s DAR structure (Data, Action, Response), the documentation method Susan Lampe introduced in the 1980s (Lampe, 1985). Neither reading is wrong. What matters is that your team picks one and sticks with it. A chart that alternates between the two readings is harder to audit than either alone.
When Should You Use a DARP Note?
Use DARP when something happened in the session or shift (an intervention, a skill practiced, a medication given) and the reader needs to see what it produced. The dedicated Response section is the receipt: proof the intervention occurred and evidence of what it did. Reach for DARP when:
Your sessions are intervention-heavy. CBT, DBT, and other skills-based modalities have a natural intervene-then-observe rhythm that maps directly onto A → R.
You chart by focus. Nurses using focus charting already write DAR; DARP just adds the Plan.
You document incidents or crises. What you observed, what you did, how the client responded, and what happens next is exactly the sequence an incident review asks for.
For routine supportive sessions with no discrete intervention, a plain DAP notes template is lighter and faster.
DARP vs DAP vs SOAP: Which Format Fits?
DARP, DAP, and SOAP all end in Assessment-then-Plan reasoning. They differ at the front of the note and in where the client’s response to intervention lives. DARP merges subjective and objective information into one Data section and gives Response its own home. SOAP separates subjective from objective but has no response section at all. DAP is DARP minus the R.
Format | Sections | Where the client’s response lives | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|---|
DARP | Data, Assessment/Action, Response, Plan | Its own R section | An intervention happened and its outcome needs to stand out |
DAP | Data, Assessment, Plan | Folded into Assessment | Routine talk-therapy sessions without a discrete intervention to track |
SOAP | Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan | Split across Subjective and Assessment | Medical and interdisciplinary settings that expect report and observation separated |
BIRP | Behavior, Intervention, Response, Plan | Its own R section | Behavior-focused programs; like DARP but leads with behavior instead of all data |
DAR / F-DAR | (Focus label +) Data, Action, Response | Its own R section | Nursing focus charting; DARP is DAR plus a Plan |
If you write DAP and keep burying intervention outcomes mid-paragraph, DARP is the smaller jump. If you already write SOAP and only miss the response tracking, add a response line to your Assessment instead of switching.
How to Write a DARP Note (Step by Step)
Write the sections in order. The format does the organizing for you. Aim for a few sentences per section.
Start with the facts (D). What did the client say, and what did you observe? Include measures, scores, or vitals if you took them. Leave every judgment out.
Interpret or act (A). In therapy and social work, say what the facts mean for progress, risk, and formulation, phrased tentatively. In nursing, record what you did, specifically, and when.
Capture the reaction (R). Quote the client, record the changed rating or vital sign, describe the behavioral shift. If there was no discernible response, say so. That’s clinical information too.
Commit to next steps (P). Homework, referrals, reassessment timing, next appointment. Each step needs an owner and a timeframe.
Reread as a stranger. Could another clinician continue care from this note alone? If not, the gap is almost always missing Data or a vague Plan.
For the wider documentation habit this sits inside (frequency, timing, retention), see how to write therapy progress notes.
DARP Note Examples
The three examples below cover the settings that use DARP most: individual therapy, nursing, and social work. All three describe fictional, composite clients. No real person, session, or record appears here. The therapy and social work examples are set in Ontario, Canada; the structure works the same anywhere, so swap the credentials and program names for your own state or province. Notice how the A section changes meaning between the therapy and nursing examples; everything else stays identical.
DARP Note Example: Individual Therapy
Setting: virtual session #6, 50 minutes, Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO), CBT for anxiety.
Data: Client (34) attended on time, virtually. Reported “my mind won’t shut off at work” and sleep onset of roughly an hour most nights this week. Completed 4 of 7 assigned thought records. Speech normal in rate and volume; affect anxious and congruent with content; leg bouncing intermittently during the first half of session. No risk indicators reported or observed. Assessment: Worry remains frequent, but client is beginning to catch catastrophic predictions in the moment, a shift from session 3, when identification required prompting. Presentation remains consistent with generalized anxiety. Engagement with between-session tasks is partial but improving. No change to risk status. Response: During in-session cognitive restructuring of a work-review worry, client rated belief in “I’ll be fired if the report has one error” at 85%, then 40% after evidence review, noting “I’ve never actually missed a deadline.” Posture visibly relaxed in the second half of session. Client asked to repeat the exercise on a weekend-related worry unprompted. Plan: Continue daily thought records, target one per day. Introduce worry-time experiment next session. Next appointment in one week, same time. Continue monitoring sleep onset; revisit sleep hygiene if no improvement in two weeks.
DARP Nursing Example (Focus Charting)
Setting: adult inpatient unit, night shift, RN entry. Note the A here is Action, per focus-charting convention.
Focus: Anxiety Data: Found client pacing the hallway at 21:40, wringing hands. States “my chest feels tight and I can’t slow my thoughts down.” Vital signs: BP 142/88, HR 96, RR 20, SpO₂ 98% on room air. Denies chest pain. No thoughts of self-harm expressed. Action: Accompanied client to quiet room and reduced stimulation (lights dimmed, door closed). Guided paced breathing for five minutes. PRN lorazepam 0.5 mg PO administered at 21:55 as ordered. Remained with client for ten minutes; encouraged use of call bell if symptoms return. Response: At 22:25, client seated calmly in room, states “the thoughts are slowing down.” HR 78, RR 14. Affect visibly settled. Client agreed to attempt sleep and declined further intervention at this time. Plan: Reassess within one hour and document on flow sheet. Report episode and response at shift handover. Flag for day team to review PRN use pattern this week.
DARP Note Example: Social Work
Setting: community mental health agency, Registered Social Worker (OCSWSSW), scheduled appointment.
Data: Client (47) attended scheduled appointment and brought an N4 eviction notice for rent arrears, as requested. ODSP application pending; reports no current income since layoff four months ago. Describes mood as “low since the layoff” but maintained engagement throughout, asked questions, and took notes. Identifies sister nearby as a support. No safety concerns disclosed or observed. Assessment: Housing instability is the immediate psychosocial stressor and now carries a concrete timeline; risk of homelessness within 30 days if arrears are not addressed. Client demonstrates strong follow-through capacity: brought requested documents and completed prior referral paperwork independently. Low mood appears situational and is being monitored; no indicators warranting escalation at this contact. Response: Client agreed readily to a rent-bank referral. Initially hesitant about the community legal clinic (“I don’t want a fight with my landlord”), then agreed after discussion that the clinic can negotiate a repayment plan rather than litigate. Signed consents to disclose to both agencies before leaving and stated the plan “feels like a path.” Plan: Submit rent-bank referral within two business days; fax consent and N4 copy to legal clinic same day. Follow up with ODSP caseworker on application status this week. Client to obtain an arrears statement from landlord. Next appointment booked for one week; revisit mood screening then.
Blank DARP Note Template (Copy or Download)
The template below is free to copy, print, or adapt. No email address required. It works for every reading of the format: leave the Focus line blank outside nursing, and keep whichever A your setting uses. Download it as a fillable PDF or an editable DOCX.
DARP PROGRESS NOTE
Client: ______________________ Date: ____________ Time: ____________
Clinician: ____________________ Session/Shift: ________ Duration: ______
Focus (nursing / focus charting, optional): ______________________
D: DATA
What the client said (quote sparingly) and what you observed.
Facts only, no interpretation.
Reported: _________________________________________________________
Observed: _________________________________________________________
Measures / scores / vitals (if any): ______________________________
A: ASSESSMENT (therapy, social work) / ACTION (nursing)
Assessment: your clinical interpretation of the data (progress,
patterns, risk, working formulation). Use tentative language.
Action: the specific interventions carried out this contact, with times.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
R: RESPONSE
How the client responded to the intervention: their words, your
observations, changed ratings, behavior, or vitals.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
P: PLAN
Next steps with owners and timeframes: homework, referrals, follow-up,
when you will reassess, and the date/focus of the next contact.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Signature / credentials: ________________ Date signed: ____________
If you would rather not fill this in by hand at 9 p.m., Klarify can draft the whole note from your session. More on that below the mistakes list.
Common DARP Charting Mistakes
Most weak DARP notes fail the same six ways, and all six are section-discipline problems: the right information in the wrong section, or an opinion where a fact belongs. Treat the table below as a pre-signing checklist. Scan your note against the left column before you sign it.
Mistake | What it looks like | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Interpretation smuggled into Data | “Client was manipulative about homework.” | Keep Data observable. Move judgments to Assessment and phrase them tentatively. |
Response written as your opinion | “Session went well.” | Record the client’s words, behavior, ratings, or vitals. The response belongs to them, not you. |
Assessment and Response duplicating each other | The same sentence appears in both sections. | Assessment interprets the whole picture; Response reports the reaction to a specific intervention. |
A vague Plan | “Continue therapy.” | Name the next concrete step, its owner, and when you will reassess. |
Switching between Assessment and Action mid-chart | One entry reads A as interpretation, the next as intervention. | Pick the reading your setting uses and standardize it across the team. |
Copy-forward drift | Last week’s note pasted in with the date changed. | Each entry must reflect that contact. Write the Response fresh every time. It is the one section that can never repeat honestly. |
What Do Regulators Require?
The rules that govern your records depend on where you hold a license.
United States
Retention minimums and record requirements vary by state and licensing board. Check your board’s documentation rules before you commit to a template or a retention schedule.
Canada
No Canadian regulator mandates DARP, DAP, SOAP, or any other acronym. The standards govern what a record contains, not how it’s headed. A complete DARP note satisfies the content expectations comfortably, because interventions, responses, and plans are exactly what the colleges want documented. What differs by college is retention, access, and security detail, so read your own:
Registered Psychotherapists (Ontario): CRPO Professional Practice Standards, Section 5: Record-Keeping and Documentation.
Social workers (Ontario): OCSWSSW Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, Principle IV: The Social Work and Social Service Work Record.
Nurses (Ontario): CNO Documentation practice standard.
Requirements differ outside Ontario too: OPQ, OTSTCFQ, BCACC, and the other provincial bodies publish their own record-keeping standards. When in doubt, the college’s document beats any template page, including this one.
Klarify Writes DARP Notes for You
Klarify, an AI assistant for therapists in the United States and Canada, drafts your progress notes from the session itself: in-person session audio, virtual meeting audio, session dictation, handwritten notes, an uploaded transcript, or an uploaded audio file. It ships with 20+ built-in formats (SOAP, DAP, BIRP, and more). DARP is a one-time setup with custom templates, included on every plan: paste the blank template above in once, or just describe the structure, and Klarify generates DARP notes from your sessions from then on. Audio upload depends on your plan, so check the current plan details on klarify.ca. Klarify is fully HIPAA, PHIPA, PIPEDA, Quebec Loi 25, and GDPR compliant, all data is stored in Canada, and session audio is automatically deleted from storage within 14 days, or earlier if you set it. Every therapist also gets a free Psychology Today-style public profile hosted on klarify.ca, with built-in marketing features to attract clients.
The Response section is the easiest one to lose when a note is written from memory hours after the session. It’s also the one an AI scribe is best placed to capture, because it heard what the client actually said after the intervention.
Klarify writes DARP notes for you, start free
Prefer the three-section version without a Response line? Use the DAP note template instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between DARP and DAP notes?
A DARP note is a DAP note with a dedicated Response section. In DAP, the client’s reaction to your interventions gets folded into the Assessment. DARP pulls it out into its own labeled section, so a reader can find the intervention and its outcome at a glance. If your sessions are intervention-heavy, DARP keeps the Assessment cleaner.
Does the A in DARP stand for Assessment or Action?
Both readings exist, and your setting decides. Therapists and social workers usually read A as Assessment, the clinical interpretation of the data. Nurses trained on focus charting tend to read it as Action, meaning the interventions performed during the contact. Check your team’s documentation policy and use one reading consistently across the chart.
Is DARP the same as DAR or F-DAR charting?
They are close relatives. DAR (Data, Action, Response) is the core of focus charting, a nursing documentation method introduced by Susan Lampe in the 1980s (Lampe, 1985). F-DAR adds a Focus label that names the problem being addressed. DARP extends DAR with a Plan section, so the next steps live inside the note instead of somewhere else in the chart.
How long should a DARP note be?
Long enough that another clinician could pick up the file and continue care, and no longer. For most therapy sessions that means a few sentences per section, well under a page. Nursing DARP entries are usually shorter still, since each entry covers one focus rather than a whole session.
Are DARP notes accepted by licensing boards and regulatory colleges?
In the US, retention minimums and record requirements vary by state and licensing board, so check your board’s documentation rules. In Canada, no college mandates a specific note format: CRPO, OCSWSSW, and CNO standards describe what a record must contain, not which acronym organizes it. A complete DARP note meets those content expectations well because interventions and responses are explicit. Retention periods and record requirements differ by college and province, so check your own college’s standard.