SOAP is the note many clinics still expect. Subjective is what the client reported. Objective is what you observed in the room. Assessment is your formulation of this session, written from the shorthand, not a diagnosis invented by the tool. Interventions name what you actually did. Plan is the next step, the homework, and when you meet again.
Counselor Note Assistant asks for those five sections, in that order, from shorthand you have already stripped of names. You edit the draft before it goes into a record. It is documentation help. It is not clinical judgment.
Free includes 3 AI notes. PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scoring does not spend one. If your agency uses DAP or BIRP instead, those formats are on the same account, along with GIRP when the note is organized around a goal.