The Adult Psychotherapy Progress Notes Planner (6th Edition), authored by Arthur E. Jongsma Jr., Katy Pastoor, and David J. Berghuis, is a comprehensive reference designed to assist mental health professionals in writing effective, efficient, and compliant psychotherapy progress notes. It belongs to the widely used PracticePlanners® series, which includes treatment planners, homework planners, and other tools for clinicians. The primary goal of this volume is to streamline clinical documentation, helping therapists save time while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and adherence to professional standards required by third-party payors, licensing boards, and accrediting organizations.
This book functions as a direct companion to The Complete Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner, ensuring that every progress note written is linked to treatment plan goals, objectives, and interventions. The 6th Edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect the most recent changes in mental health practice, diagnostic language, and the evolving expectations of documentation compliance in the field.
Structure and Organization
The planner is organized around 44 behavioral problems commonly encountered in adult psychotherapy. Each problem area corresponds to a specific diagnostic or behavioral category such as depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, bipolar disorder, anger control, relationship conflict, grief, loneliness, and more. The new edition includes an entirely new chapter on loneliness, reflecting the growing recognition of this issue as a public health concern and psychological focus.
Each chapter follows a standardized format that mirrors the layout of the companion treatment planner. This structure allows the therapist to easily connect each progress note to previously established goals and interventions. For every behavioral problem, the book offers:
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Problem Definition – A concise description of the client issue.
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Long-Term Goals – Broad outcomes the therapy aims to achieve.
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Short-Term Objectives – Specific, measurable steps toward achieving each goal.
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Therapeutic Interventions – Practical strategies and techniques used by the therapist.
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Progress Notes – Prewritten, modifiable narrative samples summarizing what occurred during a therapy session.
Altogether, the planner provides over 8,000 prewritten progress note statements, making it one of the most extensive collections of clinical documentation templates available. These notes describe client presentation, therapeutic interventions, client responses, progress made toward goals, and plans for subsequent sessions.
Key Features and Benefits
The 6th Edition maintains the signature features that have made the PracticePlanners® series indispensable to clinicians:
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Time-Saving Templates: Each prewritten note can be quickly adapted to match the specifics of a client’s session, drastically reducing the time spent on paperwork.
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Integration with Treatment Planning: Notes are designed to correspond precisely with goals, objectives, and interventions in the Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner, promoting continuity and clarity between treatment and documentation.
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Comprehensive Scope: The 44 problem areas encompass nearly every major diagnostic concern found in adult outpatient therapy, including emotional, behavioral, relational, and adjustment-related difficulties.
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Regulatory Compliance: The language and structure of the notes conform to the requirements of insurers, managed-care organizations, and accrediting bodies such as The Joint Commission and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.
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Consistency and Quality: The standardized format helps maintain consistent, high-quality documentation across sessions, clinicians, and organizations.
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Fully Updated Content: The 6th edition aligns with DSM-5 terminology, contemporary therapeutic practices, and evidence-based interventions.
Practical Use in Clinical Settings
For clinicians, the planner serves as both a reference and a daily tool for completing session documentation. A therapist can follow a simple process:
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Identify the Problem Area: After a session, determine which of the 44 behavioral problems applies most closely to the client’s presenting issue.
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Locate the Corresponding Chapter: Each problem area includes a comprehensive list of objectives and interventions relevant to that issue.
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Select a Suitable Template: Review the available prewritten progress note examples for that problem. Choose the one that best matches the session’s focus and progress.
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Customize the Note: Modify the prewritten text to fit the specific details of the session—client reactions, therapeutic techniques used, and progress made.
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Link to Treatment Goals: Ensure that the note reflects progress on previously defined short-term objectives and relates back to the client’s overall treatment plan.
By following this process, therapists can create professional, concise, and compliant notes in a fraction of the time normally required. The planner also serves as a learning tool for new clinicians or graduate students who are still developing documentation skills, providing a model for appropriate language, tone, and structure.
Applications and Advantages
The Adult Psychotherapy Progress Notes Planner is useful across various practice settings—private practice, hospitals, community mental health centers, substance abuse programs, correctional facilities, and employee assistance programs. It benefits practitioners who must document high caseloads efficiently while maintaining individualized care.
The book supports:
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Consistency across multidisciplinary teams by standardizing note formats.
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Audit Readiness, since the structure meets most insurance and compliance requirements.
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Professional Development, offering examples that teach concise and clinically relevant documentation.
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Client Continuity, ensuring that progress across sessions is clearly traceable for treatment review and supervision.
Because every note template is fully editable, clinicians retain creative control and can adapt the language to reflect their therapeutic approach—whether cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, solution-focused, or integrative.
Strengths and Considerations
One of the strongest advantages of this book is its ability to dramatically reduce administrative workload while maintaining a high professional standard. The templates provide clear, clinically sound phrasing that helps practitioners avoid vague or incomplete documentation. The problem-linked organization also reinforces goal-oriented therapy, emphasizing measurable change and accountability.
However, while the planner is an efficient resource, clinicians are cautioned not to rely on the templates without proper customization. Overusing unmodified text could make notes appear formulaic and fail to capture the nuances of each client’s experience. The planner is best viewed as a guide—a foundation upon which personalized, context-specific notes should be built. Additionally, users must ensure that their final documentation meets any local or agency-specific recordkeeping standards.
Significance of the 6th Edition
The 6th Edition represents the most up-to-date and comprehensive version of this resource. It integrates new behavioral problems, modern terminology, and a growing emphasis on issues like loneliness, self-care, and trauma-informed care. Its revisions reflect the realities of modern mental health practice: electronic health records, managed care pressures, and the need for concise yet detailed documentation. By combining efficiency with clinical integrity, the planner continues to serve as an invaluable bridge between therapeutic practice and administrative necessity.
Conclusion
The Adult Psychotherapy Progress Notes Planner (PracticePlanners), 6th Edition is an essential tool for today’s mental health professionals. It offers a practical framework for creating accurate, compliant, and meaningful documentation without sacrificing clinical depth. Through its extensive library of prewritten templates, alignment with treatment planning, and ease of customization, the book empowers therapists to focus more on their clients and less on paperwork. Whether used as a teaching aid, a time-saving reference, or a compliance safeguard, this planner remains one of the most trusted and effective resources in the field of psychotherapy documentation.