Do therapists actually make treatment plans?

From my experience a formal treatment plan has to be shared with a client. Even if special circumstances don't permit this, someone - a parent, guardian or spouse for example, would have input. To me this is just informed consent - a client has the right to know what interventions you plan to use and why you plan to use them. I also doubt there's anything written in a plan that a client or family members wouldn't understand. And I think it should be left up to the client to let you now that they aren't interested in this info. It's always better to avoid making assumptions.

I don't know if she's made one or not. She's never shared one with me so I kinda doubt it. She's not the most traditional therapist on the block, that's for sure. I am grateful for this. I would not want a treatment plan per se, I would feel like I had to live up to it and would feel like a failure if I didn't live up to it exactly as laid out.

Discussing interventions with a client is not about minute details but rather finding out what your clients goals are and how they can be achieved. So if a client is self harming, you might suggest focusing on that and asking if they are interested in doing some DBT for emotion regulation. Or suggesting CBT techniques to someone with social phobia. I think you see most formally written treatment plans in hospitals or other programs since they are short term and solution focused. But even in private therapy many Ts and clients work collaboratively and frequently go over goals and progress (or lackthereof).

Yes, I never said I thought it wasn't normal to go over goals and progress and discuss what approach to take, or that it's not something I would do. I was just trying to explain why you might not look at the actual piece of paper that constitutes a treatment plan with a client (and you might, but in my experience, in most outpatient settings it's the exception). What I was trying to say is a treatment plan is usually a summation of what you've already agreed on with the client, but the language on a treatment plan might be less geared toward the client (because it may be for insurance purposes or sharing with other T's involved in treatment, or written in terms of a particular theory a T subscribes to which may have some jargon in it) and hence not the best tool to use for such a discussion.

I, myself, with three different T's have never seen my own treatment plan nor wanted to, but have often discussed the direction we were taking or what I'd like my T to do differently.

But I feel like what I am saying is not helpful to this conversation anyway so I'm going to bow out at this point...

The two I see have not said anything about goals past the first or second meeting with them.
I kept asking if there was a structure - but the denied it and so I read up a lot and imposed one - I doubt either of them know what my structure is or its purpose.
I am still rankled at the idea of a therapist-without asking me-deciding I won't understand or want to see their piece of paper. I certainly would want to see what they give an insurance company and I would never ever let them speak to any one else. If I want to spend my time and money going over their jargon - it is not for the therapist to decide it is not a good idea.

I know the times a formal treatment plan have been made (I've only experienced this in the hospital), it was discussed with me for my input, it was collaborative, and I had to sign the document. Personally, I found the formal treatment plans least useful and more about CYA. My most effective treatment over the years didn't involved any written, formal document laying out a plan for my treatment; rather, effective treatment was evolving, ongoing, and very flexible.