DAP vs SOAP vs BIRP — Which Therapy Note Format Should Your AI Scribe Support?

DAP — Data, Assessment, Plan

DAP is the most common outpatient therapy format in the United States. Data captures observations and client statements; Assessment interprets clinical significance; Plan sets next steps. Concise, therapist-friendly, and the default in solo and small-group practice.

AI scribes tend to be strongest here because DAP maps cleanly onto how a transcript decomposes: verbatim content → clinical interpretation → forward-looking action.

SOAP — Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan

SOAP originates in medical charting. Behavioral-health clinicians use it when documenting inside a medical group, when payer requirements demand it, or when integrating with primary care records.

SOAP separates the client's self-report (Subjective) from clinician observation (Objective) — a distinction less natural in psychotherapy, where nearly all data is subjective/relational. Expect some awkwardness when SOAP is applied to talk therapy transcripts.

BIRP — Behavior, Intervention, Response, Plan

BIRP is common in community mental health and agency settings. It centers on the specific behavior observed, the clinical intervention delivered, the client's response, and the plan.

Payers auditing medical necessity often prefer BIRP because interventions are explicit — the note answers 'what did the clinician do?' without the reviewer having to infer.

GIRP and PIRP — goal- and problem-anchored variants

GIRP replaces Behavior with Goal; PIRP replaces it with Problem. Both are common in group therapy and SUD settings.

• GIRP aligns each note with a specific treatment-plan goal — the 'golden thread' payers look for.
• PIRP centers the presenting problem or diagnostic focus, useful in problem-focused brief therapy.
• SUD LOC documentation typically leans GIRP because continued-stay justification is goal-anchored.

PIE, SIRP, and less common formats

PIE (Problem, Intervention, Evaluation) is a shorter variant used in case management. SIRP (Situation, Intervention, Response, Plan) shows up in community-based programs. Coverage of these formats varies by vendor; Mentalyc supports PIE natively, and most others require template customization.

Which format should you use — and when

The right format follows your setting and payer, not vendor marketing.

• Solo cash-pay outpatient therapy: DAP.
• Insurance-billed outpatient therapy with audit exposure: BIRP or GIRP.
• Agency or community mental health: BIRP (most common) or GIRP.
• SUD IOP/PHP: GIRP tied to treatment-plan goals.
• Behavioral-health inside a medical group: SOAP, to match primary care records.
• Brief solution-focused therapy: PIRP.

Which scribes support each format

This is where behavioral-health specialization shows up most concretely.