Claude CoWork for Therapists

What is Claude CoWork?

Claude CoWork is the practice of using Claude as a persistent, knowledgeable co-worker embedded in your daily mental health workflow. This is not about asking a chatbot a one-off question and hoping for the best. It is about configuring Claude with your clinical context, documentation preferences, and therapeutic orientation so that every interaction produces output you can actually use.

Claude-native prompts. The prompts in this guide use Claude's native XML tag structure (<context>, <instructions>, <format>, <avoid>) for more precise, consistent output. These tags help Claude parse your intent with less ambiguity. They work in ChatGPT too, but are optimized for Claude.

Think of Claude as the sharpest administrative assistant you have ever worked with, one who never forgets your documentation style, knows your preferred note formats inside and out, and can draft a session note, treatment plan, or pre-authorization letter in seconds. The difference between clinicians who dabble with AI and those who gain a real edge comes down to setup and consistency.

This guide walks you through setting up Claude specifically for mental health work, the five workflows that will save you the most time, and the prompting techniques that separate generic output from clinically sound content.

Install the Therapist Plugin

This guide works on three Claude surfaces. The plugin is the fastest path on two of them. Pick whichever you use:

If you're on Cowork (desktop or mobile app)

Claude Cowork is Anthropic's agentic workspace — Claude completes work autonomously and returns finished deliverables. The Therapist plugin packages the workflows below as native skills and slash commands.

Open the Cowork plugin directory in your desktop app.
Filter by Cowork, search for "Therapist", and click Install.
The plugin's slash commands and ambient skills are now available in any Cowork task.

If you don't see the plugin in the directory yet, install via custom marketplace: paste https://github.com/alexclowe/awesome-claude-cowork-plugins in your Cowork plugin settings.

If you're on Claude Code (CLI)

Install from your terminal:

claude plugin add alexclowe/awesome-claude-cowork-plugins/therapist

The plugin's slash commands and skills load on next session.

If you're on Claude.ai (web chat only)

Plugins aren't directly installable on the web chat surface. You have two options:

Use the prompts in this guide directly in a Claude Project (covered in the next section). Same outputs, more typing.
Upload the plugin's skills as a zip via Settings → Features → Custom Skills (Pro/Max/Team/Enterprise plans). Higher friction; only worth it if you want the auto-activating skills, not the slash commands.

What the plugin gives you (any surface)

Slash command	What it does
`/session-note`	Draft SOAP, DAP, or BIRP session notes from encounter details with interventions and plan
`/treatment-plan`	Generate structured treatment plans with measurable goals, objectives, and evidence-based interventions
`/pre-auth`	Create insurance pre-authorization and medical necessity letters with clinical justification
`/client-letter`	Draft progress letters, discharge summaries, and referral letters for clients and providers

Auto-activating skills (no command needed — Claude applies them when relevant):

Clinical Mental Health — Evidence-based therapy documentation, DSM-5 diagnostic references, treatment modalities, and clinical assessment
Therapeutic Communication — Empathetic clinical writing, health literacy adaptation, and professional correspondence with clients and insurers

The plugin works standalone for one-off tasks. Pair it with the surface-specific setup below for persistent context across every task — that combination is the full Claude CoWork setup.

Setting Up Claude for Mental Health Work

Surface note: The Project setup below is for claude.ai web users. Cowork users have their own task-context mechanism (set context once when starting a Cowork task). Claude Code users get the plugin's ambient skills automatically — no Project setup needed. The workflows themselves are surface-agnostic — paste the prompts wherever you're working. The key to getting consistently useful output from Claude is using Claude Projects. A Project lets you set custom instructions that persist across every conversation, so you are not re-explaining your clinical practice every time.

Step 1: Create a Clinical Practice Project. In Claude, click "Projects" and create one called something like "My Clinical Practice."

Step 2: Set your custom instructions. In the Project settings, add instructions like:

You are my clinical documentation assistant. Here is my context:

<business-profile>
- Name: [Your Name], [Credentials — LCSW / LPC / LMFT / PsyD / etc.]
- Practice type: [Solo private practice / Group practice / Agency]
- Specialties: [Anxiety and depression / Trauma / Couples / Children and adolescents]
- Therapeutic orientation: [CBT / EMDR / Psychodynamic / Integrative / etc.]
- Preferred note format: [SOAP / DAP / BIRP]
- Insurance panels: [List primary payers]
- EHR system: [SimplePractice / TherapyNotes / Jane App / etc.]
</business-profile>

<rules>
- Never use real client names, dates of birth, or identifying details. Use initials only (e.g., "J.M.").
- All clinical language must be professional and consistent with DSM-5-TR terminology.
- Output is always a draft for clinician review. Include: "DRAFT — FOR CLINICIAN REVIEW."
- When writing treatment plans, align goals with the client's presenting concerns and stated objectives.
</rules>

Step 3: Upload reference documents. Add your preferred note templates, sample treatment plans, insurance pre-authorization forms, or your practice's documentation guidelines to the Project knowledge base. Claude will reference these when generating content.

Step 4: Start every session inside this Project. This ensures Claude always has your context loaded.

Your Top 5 Workflows with Claude

1. Session Notes (SOAP/DAP/BIRP)

Documentation after back-to-back sessions is the most time-consuming part of clinical work. Give Claude the key points and let it structure the note.

<task>Write a SOAP note for today's individual therapy session.</task>

<context>Client: J.M., 34F, Dx: GAD (F41.1). Session 8, weekly CBT. Focus: cognitive restructuring around catastrophic thinking at work.</context>

<instructions>
- Subjective: Increased worry about performance review, sleep disrupted 3/7 nights, anxiety 7/10
- Objective: Engaged, completed thought record homework, identified 3 distortions (catastrophizing, mind-reading, fortune-telling)
- Assessment: Improved distortion identification, struggling with balanced alternatives independently
- Plan: Continue weekly CBT, introduce behavioral experiments, assign daily thought record
</instructions>

<avoid>Client's full name or identifying details beyond initials; overly vague language</avoid>

Before Claude: 15-20 minutes per note, often completed hours after session. After Claude: 3 minutes to input key points, 3 minutes to review and finalize.

2. Treatment Plans

Treatment plans require structured goals, objectives, and interventions aligned with the diagnosis. Claude can build the framework from your clinical assessment.

<task>Draft a treatment plan for a new client.</task>

<context>Client: R.T., 28M. Dx: MDD recurrent moderate (F33.1), Social Anxiety (F40.10). Presenting: low mood, social withdrawal, missing work 2-3 days/month. Client goal: "feel like myself again and stop avoiding people." Approach: CBT + behavioral activation.</context>

<instructions>
- 3 treatment goals with measurable objectives and target dates
- Specific interventions per goal (behavioral activation, exposure hierarchy, cognitive restructuring)
- Align with client's stated objectives; include frequency and modality
- Use insurance-appropriate language
</instructions>

<avoid>Vague goals ("feel better"); interventions misaligned with stated approach</avoid>

Before Claude: 30-45 minutes drafting a comprehensive treatment plan. After Claude: 5 minutes to input, 10 minutes to review and adjust.

3. Pre-Authorization Letters

Insurance pre-authorization requests require specific clinical language to justify continued care. Claude can structure these persuasively.

<task>Draft a pre-authorization letter requesting 12 additional sessions.</task>

<context>Client: A.K., 42F. Dx: PTSD (F43.10) s/p MVA. Weekly EMDR, 16 sessions completed. Progress: flashbacks daily to 2x/week, PCL-5 from 62 to 44. Remaining: driving avoidance, hypervigilance, disrupted sleep.</context>

<instructions>
- Address to utilization review; include diagnosis, modality, and medical necessity
- Cite measurable progress; explain why additional sessions are needed
- Reference clinical guidelines supporting EMDR duration for PTSD
- Under 400 words, professional and concise
</instructions>

<avoid>Client's full name, DOB, or SSN; outcome guarantees</avoid>

Before Claude: 30-45 minutes per authorization request. After Claude: 5 minutes to input, 10 minutes to review and add payer details.

4. Client Letters and Summaries

Whether it is a discharge summary, a referral letter, or a letter to a client's attorney, Claude can draft professional clinical correspondence.

<task>Draft a clinical summary letter for a client's attorney in a personal injury case.</task>

<context>Client: M.S., 55M. Dx: Adjustment Disorder, mixed anxiety/depressed mood (F43.23). Onset: workplace injury 6 months ago. Treatment: 20 CBT sessions. Status: improved but ongoing occupational functioning difficulty.</context>

<instructions>
- Include diagnosis, onset, treatment dates, session count, presenting symptoms, progress, and prognosis
- Note causal relationship to reported workplace incident
- Professional and objective tone
</instructions>

<avoid>Legal conclusions on liability; information beyond clinical scope</avoid>

Before Claude: 45-60 minutes drafting a clinical summary letter. After Claude: 10 minutes to input, 15 minutes to review for clinical accuracy.

5. Psychoeducation Materials

Creating handouts and worksheets for clients takes time away from clinical work. Claude can draft materials aligned with your therapeutic approach.

<task>Create a psychoeducation handout on sleep hygiene for clients with anxiety.</task>

<context>Audience: adult therapy clients with anxiety disorders. Reading level: 8th-10th grade. Orientation: CBT.</context>

<instructions>
- Explain the anxiety-sleep connection in 2-3 sentences
- List 8-10 practical sleep hygiene recommendations
- Include a CBT-framed section on managing anxious thoughts at bedtime
- Under 400 words; warm, supportive tone
</instructions>

<avoid>Medical advice about sleep medications; overly clinical language</avoid>

Before Claude: 30-45 minutes creating a handout from scratch. After Claude: 5 minutes to input, 10 minutes to review and personalize.

Prompt Engineering Tips for Therapists

1. Always specify the note format. "Write a SOAP note" produces a very different structure than "Write a DAP note" or "Write a BIRP note." Be explicit about the format your practice or EHR requires.

2. Include the diagnosis code. Providing the ICD-10 code alongside the diagnosis name ensures Claude uses precise clinical terminology and aligns the documentation with billing requirements.

3. State the therapeutic orientation. "Using a CBT framework" guides Claude to reference appropriate interventions like thought records and behavioral experiments rather than generic suggestions.

4. Use clinical vignettes, not real data. Describe the clinical picture in general terms. Instead of pasting actual session recordings or notes, summarize the key clinical observations you want documented.

5. Ask Claude to match your documentation style. Paste a previous note you wrote and say "Match this level of detail and clinical tone." This calibrates Claude to your preferences quickly.

6. Request measurable language. Add "Use measurable, observable language for goals and objectives" to treatment plan prompts. This produces documentation that meets insurance requirements and stands up to audits.

Privacy & Compliance

HIPAA compliance is non-negotiable. Claude is not a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate. Do not enter protected health information (PHI) into Claude. This means no client names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, or any combination of data that could identify a specific individual.

Use initials and de-identified information only. Replace all client names with initials. Omit dates of birth, insurance member IDs, and other direct identifiers. Describe clinical presentations in general terms that could not be traced back to a specific person.

Review all output for clinical accuracy. Claude generates plausible clinical language, but it is not a licensed clinician. Verify that diagnoses, interventions, and clinical observations accurately reflect what occurred in session. You sign the note — you are responsible for its accuracy.

Understand your state licensing board's position. Some state licensing boards have issued guidance on AI use in clinical documentation. Review your board's policies and ensure your workflow complies.

Maintain documentation integrity. AI-generated notes should reflect your genuine clinical observations and judgment, not fabricated details. Use Claude to structure and articulate your clinical thinking, not to replace it.

Going Further

Ready to build on this foundation? Check out these resources:

Browse our full collection of therapist prompt packs and cheat sheets for ready-to-use templates
Run an AI readiness audit for your therapy practice to identify your biggest opportunities
Explore AI-powered tools built specifically for therapists to automate even more of your workflow