Yes — PatientNotes is used by psychologists, counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists, and other mental health clinicians across Australia, the UK, and beyond. This article addresses the specific questions and considerations most relevant to mental health practice.
Is it appropriate to record sensitive mental health sessions?
This is ultimately a clinical and ethical decision for each practitioner to make based on their professional guidelines and knowledge of their client. PatientNotes is a documentation tool — it processes audio to generate structured clinical notes, and all recordings are automatically deleted within 30 days.
Many mental health clinicians find that using PatientNotes actually improves the therapeutic relationship by allowing them to be more present during the session rather than writing notes throughout. Clients are always informed and consent is required before recording begins.
If a client declines to be recorded, you can use Enter Manually to type or paste notes after the session and still benefit from AI-generated structure and summaries.
How do I handle consent with mental health clients?
PatientNotes includes a built-in consent screen that appears before every session. You can read this to the client and confirm their agreement before recording begins.
For mental health practice, we recommend being transparent with clients about:
What is recorded (the audio of the session)
How it is used (to generate written clinical notes only)
How long it is retained (30 days, then automatically deleted)
That it is never used for AI training or shared for commercial purposes
That they can opt out at any time
If you already collect consent through intake forms, you can disable the in-app consent screen in Settings → Profile. See: How Do I Record Patient Consent Before a Session?
Is the data secure enough for mental health records?
PatientNotes uses AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.2+ in transit — the same standards used by major healthcare providers globally. Key security features relevant to mental health clinicians:
Audio is never permanently stored — recordings are processed and deleted within 30 days
No AI training on patient data — your session content is never used to train models
No third-party data sharing for commercial purposes
Compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, and the Australian Privacy Act 1998
Data residency options — Australian, UK, and US server options are available
For full security details, see: Understanding Privacy and Security of PatientNotes
Can I customise notes for mental health documentation?
Yes — PatientNotes has flexible template and prompt options well-suited to mental health documentation styles, including:
SOAP notes — Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan
DAP notes — Data, Assessment, Plan (common in counselling)
Progress notes — free-form or structured session summaries
DSM-5 coding — you can configure your template to include diagnostic codes
Risk and safety documentation — you can add custom sections for risk assessment, safety plans, or mental state examination (MSE)
You can also set your template to refer to the person as "client" rather than "patient" — see: How to Change 'Patient' to 'Client'
What if a client doesn't want to be recorded?
No problem — use the Enter Manually option on the Sessions page. You can type or dictate a summary of the session after it ends, and PatientNotes will still structure and format it using your chosen template. No audio recording is required.
Professional and ethical considerations
PatientNotes is designed as a documentation aid — it generates draft clinical notes that you review, edit, and finalise. The clinician remains responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all records.
We recommend checking your professional body's guidance on the use of AI tools in clinical practice. Relevant bodies include:
Australian Psychological Society (APS)
AHPRA / Psychology Board of Australia
Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
British Psychological Society (BPS)
American Psychological Association (APA)
PatientNotes does not provide legal or professional ethics advice. If you are unsure whether using an AI documentation tool is appropriate for your specific practice context, consult your professional indemnity insurer or professional body.
Still have questions?
We're happy to talk through how PatientNotes can work for your mental health practice. Contact our support team and we'll help you get set up.