Session Note Template:
Psychodynamic psychotherapy sessions can be documented using this template in NovoNote, designed to capture key themes, unconscious processes, and interventions consistent with a psychodynamic framework.
Template Structure
Example Output
Template Structure
Presenting Concerns and Themes:
- Summarise the client’s primary concerns
- Note any shifts in themes compared to previous sessions
- Identify any repeating patterns, defenses, or unconscious conflicts emerging in therapy
- Highlight relevant updates to symptoms, behaviours, emotional states or situations since previous session
- Detail any relevant life events or current circumstances contributing to client’s presentation
Affective Experience and Emotional Tone:
- Describe the client’s predominant emotional state throughout the session
- Note moments of emotional activation, avoidance, or resistance
- Document nonverbal cues that contribute to understanding of underlying affective experiences if discussed
Relational Patterns and Transference Dynamics:
- Describe any transference reactions observed in the session
- Highlight how client’s relational patterns are playing out in the therapeutic relationship
- Note any repetitions of early relational experiences in client’s narratives
- Comment on therapeutic alliance or rapport between therapist and patient observed in session
- Note any areas where rapport was strengthened or challenges arose
Countertransference and Therapist Reflections:
- Document the therapist’s emotional and cognitive responses to the client
- Identify any countertransference reactions that might provide insight into client’s unconscious processes
- Consider whether these reactions reflect broader relational themes
Defenses and Coping Mechanisms:
- Identify key defense mechanisms the client used during the session
- Consider how these defenses impact client’s emotional experience and capacity for insight
Key Interventions and Interpretations:
- Summarise therapist’s interventions, including interpretations, clarifications, or confrontations
- Highlight moments where unconscious material was explored
- Document client’s response to interpretations and any observable shifts in understanding
Progress and Emerging Insights:
- Note any evidence of psychological insight, increased affect tolerance, or shifts in self-perception
- Highlight changes in relational dynamics or patterns over the course of therapy
- Document any observed or reported progress toward therapy goals
Plan for Future Sessions:
- Describe focus areas for upcoming sessions
- Consider any emerging themes that warrant deeper exploration
- Document any adjustments to therapeutic approach based on session dynamics
- List details of next scheduled session, including time and date if mentioned
Summary:
- Provide brief recap of key points from the session
Example Output
Presenting Concerns and Themes:
- Mary discussed her ongoing struggle with feelings of inadequacy in relationships, particularly anticipating rejection before it occurs
- Shift from previous work stress focus to deeper exploration of attachment patterns from childhood experiences
- Recurring pattern of emotional withdrawal when vulnerable, mirroring her response to father’s unpredictable moods
Affective Experience and Emotional Tone:
- Mary’s emotional state fluctuated between intellectualised analysis and moments of genuine vulnerability
- Notable emotional activation when exploring father relationship, evidenced by tearfulness and physical tension
- Several instances of affective avoidance, shifting to practical concerns when emotions intensified
Relational Patterns and Transference Dynamics:
- Emerging positive transference with Mary expressing gratitude while simultaneously testing boundaries through subtle challenges
- Mary’s pattern of seeking reassurance while pushing away appeared in therapeutic relationship
- Repetition of early father-daughter dynamics evident in hypervigilance to therapist’s tone and nonverbal cues
Countertransference and Therapist Reflections:
- Therapist experienced protective feelings toward Mary, potentially reflecting her childhood caretaker role
- Mild frustration when Mary intellectualised emotions, possibly mirroring family’s discomfort with emotional expression
- These reactions provided insight into Mary’s strategy of eliciting care while maintaining distance
Defenses and Coping Mechanisms:
- Primary defenses included intellectualisation when discussing painful childhood experiences and reaction formation with parental anger
- Rationalisation evident in explanations for partner’s behaviour, protecting from disappointment
Key Interventions and Interpretations:
- Interpreted connection between current relationship fears and early experiences of father’s emotional unavailability
- Clarified how anticipating rejection protects against re-experiencing childhood disappointment
- Mary initially resisted but later acknowledged feeling “seen in a new way,” suggesting integration
Progress and Emerging Insights:
- Increased capacity to tolerate difficult emotions without immediate retreat to intellectualisation
- Growing recognition of how childhood experiences influence current relationship patterns
- Notable shift from victim of circumstances to someone with agency in relationships
Plan for Future Sessions:
- Focus on developing capacity to stay present with difficult emotions
- Next session scheduled for Tuesday, 29/05/2025 at 2:00 PM
Summary:
Mary demonstrated increased emotional availability while exploring connections between childhood and current relationship patterns. The therapeutic alliance deepened through exploration of transference dynamics mirroring early father-daughter interactions. Key insights emerged regarding defensive strategies of withdrawal and intellectualisation. Progress was evident in Mary’s capacity for psychological insight and affect tolerance.
- Template Type
- Session Note
- Note Dictation
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