[d.rose]

I ask because I thought the stereotypical therapist always had a notepad, scribbling stuff down as the client talked during a session. Mine doesn't, and said she just writes a couple things down in her notebook after I leave.

[spring2014]

Originally Posted by d.rose

I ask because I thought the stereotypical therapist always had a notepad, scribbling stuff down as the client talked during a session. Mine doesn't, and said she just writes a couple things down in her notebook after I leave.

hi d.rose,
my therapist does write during my session on a back of a sheet of paper that has the way how she tracks the way how im progressing in counseling . that way she can refer back to a session that went well for me in counseling.





Diagnosis: Anxiety and depression
meds : Cymbalta 60 mgs at night
Vistrail 2 25 mgs daily for anxiety prn
50 mgs at night for insomnia with an additional 25 mgs=75 mgs when up past 1:00 in the morning

On my first session he wrote a couple of things down but he never has since. I think he just makes a few notes at the end like your T.

[bolair811]

My T has a notepad and writes a few quick notes on occasion. I recently told him it made me nervous about what he was writing... Was it a grocery list, something bad about me, etc. He explained that he writes a few notes because he sometimes sees clients back to back and doesn't have time to write more detailed notes in between. He just makes notes about topics discussed and my general disposition during the session (anxious, fidgety, calm, etc).

[Chummy]

My T doesn't. She writes notes on her laptop after my session.
Previous T's also didn't took notes during sessions.

My pdoc does take notes. I wonder why. Our appt are short and I don't say much, so it shouldn't be easy to remember and write it down after I leave.

[atisketatasket]

All of them have taken notes, from No. 1's jotted words to on-spec No. 3's outlines to No. 2's full sentences in full paragraphs.

I don't think the very first one I saw for half a dozen sessions decades ago took notes, but she also didn't seem to take me very seriously as she knew I wouldn't be a client for long.

The only notes he takes are right at the beginning of the session when we sort of do a check in, detailed info such as med changes that would be easy to forget later. All other notes he does after session. That is why there is about ten minutes between clients for him.

[stopdog]

The first one took notes at the beginning but does not any more. They did not seem all that useful to her - she cannot remember anything.

[junkDNA]

no, he writes notes after the session

[Lauliza]

My T never writes during sessions. My pdoc types up brief notes at the very end of and after sessions.

Yes, she takes notes, and so do I.

Mine does not take notes at all. She stopped years ago because i have a very hard time having anything written down. She has a very good memory though and never forgets a thing.

[nottrustin]

She jots down quick key point words. She showed me once and anybody else reading them would have no idea what we discussed. She sees clients back to back so she doesn't do her notes between sessions

[ilikecats]

My T does take notes during sessions. I don't know whether or not she takes them after too. I doubt it, because she's always running late, so I don't think she'd have time to do notes in between. I'm kinda curious about what she writes, especially on the days when she writes a lot, but at the same time I don't care enough to ask to see them.

[gayleggg]

No, mine doesn't take notes during sessions.

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[UglyDucky]

Originally Posted by d.rose

I ask because I thought the stereotypical therapist always had a notepad, scribbling stuff down as the client talked during a session. Mine doesn't, and said she just writes a couple things down in her notebook after I leave.

My T writes quite a lot during therapy. As odd as it may sound, I'm somewhat comforted by that, feeling that he's paying attention to what I say and what I'm feeling. S/he notices changes in my facial expressions/body language immediately, asks me what's going on and may write a note about my response. I'm not saying T writes constantly...there's a lot of face-to-face/eye contact. Of course, I'm only six months in w/this T, so it could be T is still evaluating me for a dx.

[DelusionsDaily]

My T takes lots of notes during session. Doesn't bother me in the least. I've had T's that don't and I wondered how they keep track of each client. Especially my last one who had back to back clients all day.

[ChavInAHat]

No my T doesn't write notes.

Actually I don't think I have ever had a T write notes

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[AllHeart]

My t only takes a few notes here and there in my presence. Who knows what she does after I leave. For as little note taking as she does, she certainly seems to remember a lot. Usually more than I do!

[laxer12]

My current T has never written notes during session and I like it that way. I saw a T for just a couple sessions while in undergrad and she wrote some notes. It didn't bother me much at the time but once I was with my current T, I realized how much more I felt like she was really listening to me when she wasn't writing stuff down. It can get distracting when T's write notes so I'm glad mine doesn't.

All I know is that if I was a therapist, I'd definitely have to at least take notes after a session. There is no way I would be able to remember and keep all those separate clients and their stories straight. I have a terrible time keeping all of my students straight as it is; I am sure I'd equally suck at keeping all of my clients straight, particularly early on when I have only seen them for awhile. I think some people have a natural ability to remember things like that, and others need notes. Doesn't make either one a better therapist; it just means one has a different kind of memory than the other.

[Pennster]

I've seen my file so I know my therapist takes notes at some point, but definitely not during the session.

I did have a therapist who took notes during the session once and it was totally distracting - it was like anytime I said anything with any kind of emotional power he'd stop the session to write it down, and I was left hanging there. He wasn't a very good therapist for me. I needed his full attention way more than I needed him to remember any of the particular details of my emotions.

[Partless]

Yes and I find it distracting.

[SingDanceRunLife]

My T does. All throughout the session she's writing, but not in a distracting way, it's just something I've noticed (but mind you I've been seeing her for years). Also she keeps the flow going and there are very rarely pauses so she can write something. Usually it's pretty short things like bullet points or maybe a sentence or two.

The T I saw at my college didn't write notes during the session which was weird for me because I had gotten used to my home T who like I said always writes notes.

My pdoc does notes at the end of the appointment, sort of at the same time she's doing scripts.

[JaneTennison1]

first T never did, 2nd T does but it's not distracting.