A social work SOAP note puts psychosocial care into four parts: the client’s account, what you observed and learned, your assessment of needs, and the plan. Copy the free template, see examples from a community clinic and an oncology clinic, and check what each part needs.
SOCIAL WORK SOAP NOTE Client: [Name] Date of birth or ID: [Identifier] Date of contact: [Date, start and end time] Setting: [Clinic, hospital unit, home, phone, or video] Social worker: [Name, credentials] Reason for contact: [Referral source and question, or the reason for this contact] Present: [Client and others, with their role or relationship] SUBJECTIVE Client's concerns: [What the client says is happening, in their words] Stressors: [Health, family, housing, money, work, legal, or other] Coping and supports: [How the client is coping, and who helps] Goals: [What the client wants help with first] OBJECTIVE Observations: [Appearance, affect, behavior, engagement] Screening results: [Tools used, such as a food insecurity, depression, or distress screen, with results] Collateral information: [From family, the care team, or records, with the source] Current resources: [Services, benefits, and supports already in place] ASSESSMENT Psychosocial summary: [How the stressors, strengths, and supports fit together] Needs: [Practical and emotional needs, in order of priority] Strengths: [Client and family strengths to build on] Barriers: [What makes it hard to meet the needs or follow the care plan] Risk: [Safety concerns screened, and the level of concern] PLAN Referrals: [Program or service, and status: made, pending, or declined] Interventions: [Counseling, education, advocacy, or coordination planned] Client tasks: [What the client agreed to do, and by when] Social worker tasks: [What you will do, and by when] Follow-up: [Date, type of contact, and what will be reviewed] Signed: [Social worker name, credentials, date and time]
Use it for
Each one follows the template. Use them to judge how much detail every part needs.
The client’s account: what is happening, how they are coping, and what they want help with.
Avoid: Your conclusions. “Overwhelmed” is your assessment; “I can’t keep up with everything” is what the client said.
What you observed, what screening showed, and what you learned from others, each with its source.
Avoid: Vital signs and exam findings copied from the medical note. Include them only when they bear on the psychosocial plan.
Your psychosocial assessment: how the pieces fit, what the client needs, and what they bring.
Avoid: Restating the Subjective section. Say what the situation means for the client’s health, safety, and care.
What happens next, who does it, and how you’ll know it worked.
Avoid: Referrals with no follow-up. Note how you’ll confirm the client actually got connected.
A social work Objective section rarely needs vital signs or an exam. Use it for your observations, screening results, and collateral information.
Name the client’s strengths and supports too. They shape the plan, and they show what the client brings.
When there are several needs, record which ones the client wants to tackle first, and why. It keeps the plan theirs.
Write whether each referral was made, is pending, or was declined, and when you’ll check that the client got connected.
Say who gave each piece of information and how, and note the consent that allowed you to ask.
Vero Scribe writes the SOAP note in your template from the session, with the client’s consent, or from your dictation. You review it, edit it, and copy it into the chart, or export it to PDF or Word. It works in more than 60 languages.
What another worker could check: your observations of affect and behavior, screening results, information from records or the care team, and services already in place. Name the source of each.
Not usually. A psychosocial assessment describes needs, strengths, risks, and how they affect the client’s health and care. Whether you also record a diagnosis depends on your role and your organization’s policy.
Use what your setting expects. SOAP fits health care teams that already write SOAP notes; DAP is shorter and common in counseling-focused work. Both need the same substance: what you learned, what you think, and what happens next.
Yes. Copy it, or download it as a Word or text file. No account needed.
The four-part note for most visits, with acute, musculoskeletal, and telehealth examples.
One contact with a client: interventions, collateral contacts, safety, and tasks with owners.
The format, a worked example, and a checklist before you sign.
DAP, SOAP, and custom notes and care plans, from your conversations.
DAP, SOAP, and BIRP counseling notes, with examples.
Vero writes your notes and letters in the templates you choose, so you review instead of type.
No credit card required. 10 free actions every month.
Social work SOAP note: food insecurity
Community health clinic, after a positive screen at a child’s checkup
Subjective
31-year-old woman, seen after a positive food insecurity screen at her 2-year-old’s checkup. Separated 2 months ago and now the only earner, working part time. “By the last week of the month there’s nothing left. I skip meals so the kids can eat.” Children aged 2 and 7. Has not applied for any benefits since the separation and doesn’t know what she qualifies for. Her sister helps with childcare. Feels safe; no violence in the relationship. Wants help with food first, then money.
Objective
Tired but warm and engaged; came with a list of questions. Toddler playful and interactive. Hunger Vital Sign positive on the nurse’s screen. PHQ-9 7. Clinic chart: both children growing well, immunizations up to date. No current benefits or community services.
Assessment
Food insecurity after a drop in household income, with the mother skipping meals. Needs, in her order: food now, then income and benefits. Strengths: resourceful and motivated, a supportive sister, children well cared for. Barriers: work hours and no car. Mild depressive symptoms linked to stress; no safety concerns.
Plan
Referrals: food bank, same-week appointment made; school meal program for the 7-year-old, form completed together. Appointment with the clinic’s benefits navigator in 1 week to check eligibility for income and food programs; she will bring recent pay stubs. List of free community meals on her bus route given. Social worker to confirm with the school in 2 days that the form arrived. Follow-up by phone in 1 week; repeat PHQ-9 in 4 weeks, sooner if her mood worsens.