Group Notes Template

Group therapy can include any number of individuals, but typically refers to 5 to 15 patients. They can meet for any health purpose, such as anxiety, depression, or addiction, and may meet once or twice weekly. The sessions can be open or closed, and last anywhere from one to three hours. They may include group exercises, discussions, general support, or question and answers, however, group therapy is an incredibly diverse treatment method and can entail a variety of different methods for different purposes. They will look different depending on the type of field you’re in, and what is needing to be achieved.

Group notes collate more than one individual’s treatment within the same document. They should only be used for sessions where more than one individual is meeting at the same time, on the same day, in the same room. There are fewer HIPAA and APA guidelines for group notes, however, you should maintain the same practices and standards to comply with privacy, confidentiality, and quality rules.

Group notes are considerably longer than other types of notes, due to multiple individuals being assessed at once. They will typically be 2+ pages long, with each client needing to be evaluated, in addition to general information. There’s no limit to how many pages group notes should be, however, there should be at least 3 clients on one page.