Does your therapist take in-session notes?

Mine does not, and I'm so thankful. It really helps the conversation flow when I feel like he's fully present with me. He took notes the very first session and he explained that he types brief notes after sessions. Does your T take notes? Does it bother you to have someone jotting notes as you pour out your heart?

No, he has mentioned that he did take notes during session at the very start of his career, but he stopped doing so 30 years ago. He is legally obliged to keep a record of the sessions, and I assume that he makes notes after each session. Sometimes he forgets things I tell him, which bothers me a bit, but not very often.

Yes, but she gives me a heads-up as to the basics of what she's logging. Didn't even ask her to. Nice gesture, nonetheless. She also warns me if I submit anything on file that it will have to go into my permanent file and tells me if it may work against my favor. Taking notes doesn't bother me. It used to when I was seven but I get why, nowadays. Long as no false information is entered, I have no problem.

He does occasionally, but he does it in such a way that the focus isn't taken off me. I actually don't know how he manages it, but when he's taking notes I never feel like his attention isn't still focused on what I'm telling him or how I'm feeling/presenting.

How can a therapist's confidential files be used against you?

Yes mine does, when we do the how the weeks been, she makes notes, depends on what we are doing if she takes more or not.

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Yeah sometimes she does, I have noticed lately that she writes down the important stuff likes of self harm and SUI thoughts.

He took notes as my psychiatrist but I'm not sure does he take notes as my therapist. He wrote there about meds and diagnoses,about my mood and problems like insomnia,anxiety etc but never about something personal. He keeps my letters in these notes...

It's happened before, more specifically when I found out that there had been false information entered into it. I was hospitalized because someone wrote in there that I was experiencing hallucinations of a certain type on a certain day that were supposedly telling me to kill someone, which was a complete fabrication. The description of the hallucination listed on file was something I would never say and have never said in my life. I wouldn't even have been able to think of something like that. This happened at the former treatment center. When a nurse practitioner read it out to me I was floored and demanded they change it. I completely denied the alleged statement. She gave me a look as if she didn't believe me. Then she asked me if I was still hearing voices that were telling me to kill people and I told her I never NEVER heard any voices. Because she didn't believe me, I was hospitalized for 72 hours. During the entire time, I maintained my innocence and stuck by my swear that I never said such things. I have no idea who would have written something like that but it really woke me up to corruption in the mental healthcare system. So I left.

The new therapist stated that anything I say, which would involve harm to myself or anyone else would be used against me in that I would be hospitalized. It was her way of wording the warning in my favor. Still unsure how all of this works but her openness and honesty won some trust points from me.

Therapists should always take notes to cover their behinds if something goes terribly wrong! If there should happen to be a lawsuit, suicide, etc. those notes come in handy. Not to mention it helps them retain what you are saying to them and recall conversations from each session. There are so many clients usually and all it takes is a long day or sleepless night to accidentally confuse two clients or forget something really important that was said. I recall that being an issue for a couple people and it could feel hurtful when T forgets something that was discussed.
Taking notes also tracks progress. It's good to know my therapist could go back to day one and see how far I've come, what changed, what hasn't changed, what still needs work, etc.

There are so many reasons it is extremely important to take notes...

If you submit anything on file? What does that mean exactly?? Submit something such as a note or letter? If that's what you are referring to, that's crazy and really good to know. I have written letters for therapy and always debate giving them to her and keep putting it off. I think I have my answer now!

T no but Pdoc did an end of session thing with summary type stuff then made a photo copy for me and stuck original in my file. It was a form with lots of check marks and a small area for hand written instructions for meds and other notes. Usually at the beginning of each year the form would change but not the routine.

When you start with a new T there is usually the paperwork for HIPPA which states the law requirements about who can legally request records. It is the same with your Doctor or hospital admission

HIPPA Health Insurance Patient Privacy Act

Pretty much. She had given me some homework, so to speak. I was to research forgiveness. I did so and saved my findings, along with my own personal journal entry on the subject, to file on a thumb drive. I offered it to her and she warned me that if I give it to her, it would go into my file. I really didn't mind at all. There was nothing written in the entry or findings with their references that would incite any harm or bring about any danger according to law and treatment procedure. She said it was up to me. In that state of awkwardness I declined, and I'm still not sure why. I may still submit the files to her and encourage her to add them to my chart. They would have been very useful information in my progress. But yeah, I bring my laptop to every session and do, indeed, offer files for the compilation.

Please forgive my wording. I have difficulty clarifying, sometimes

Ohh okay, good to know. I wonder if all therapists must adhere to this practice? This is definitely something I will talk to my therapist about so I share carefully in the future.

HIPPA only applies in the USA.

Here, patient records of this type are much more confidential. Unless I give express permission, nobody can read my T's records apart from himself and me. It's in the law. If I were to be admitted to psych hospital, they would not be able to request that my T submits his records about me, and they cannot demand that he tells them anything other than which medication I am on and possible reactions to side effects of meds.
[edited to add: I looked up the law text now just to confirm. Information that can also be requested is T's official diagnosis, if any, and information about which treatment is indicated - which simply means that T has to make a record of the fact that he believes psychotherapy is needed.]

I do not mind if the woman takes notes. In fact, there have been times when I thought more notes and more accurate ones might have helped. She seems terrible at accuracy. But the note taking itself did not bother me.

Nope and I'm glad he doesn't because I would go crazy trying to figure out what they're writing

She does but not a lot and they aren't distracting. Usually it is something she wants to go back to when we finish our train of thought. She seems to remember everything I have ever said so it apparently works.

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I only picked "Never" because occasionally seemed like too much. My therapist has taken some notes in sessions, but it was only maybe a few minutes total each time (out of over an hour) and I believe it wasn't more than 4 or 5 sessions that he's done that (out of four years). Most of those notes were in the beginning when he needed to remember basic stuff about my family. One other time he really wanted to remember something, I think. & another time he was actually taking notes when he asked me what I would do if I were seeing a client like me (I wasn't even seeing any clients then - that actually felt like a compliment, that he wanted to use my ideas with me and others).

I wouldn't want to see a therapist who takes a lot of notes during session. I feel it breaks the interpersonal connection.

When I saw a Jungian therapist, she wrote down my dreams (bad idea since I have very long, detailed dreams, but she worked hard and wrote fast!). That didn't seem to break our connection, but it was a different type of connection than I had with other Ts.

She takes notes after, but not during. It doesn't bother me.

Current T never takes notes. He has a very good memory though--he remembers details that I don't remember until he mentions them.

Former T wrote brief notes at the end of the day about all of the patients he saw that day.

Both are really big on privacy. I do know Ts out there often don't take notes because of privacy issues.

There are actually some insurance companies that want copies of the session notes (as opposed to a treatment plan, for example). Will clients be so disclosing if they knew those notes were being reviewed by various people? That practice can jeopardize the therapy.

Those notes can possibly be used against you in child custody cases, or if you sue someone for sexual harassment, for example. Court subpoenas, etc.

Nope. .

My first Therapist did at every session, my current Therapist only does so occasionally.

She did when I saw her in person, as did I, and I still do on the phone, so I assume she does too but I've never asked. It doesn't bother me that she does, I would prefer her taking notes to her forgetting something I felt was important.