Private therapy notes: a local recording workflow

A therapy session can contain more than a clinical summary needs: names of relatives, workplaces, private messages and details about people who are not present. Keeping an entire recording creates another sensitive record. Start by deciding whether you need it at all.

Choose what you actually need to keep

There are three different workflows: brief notes written after a session, a dictated reflection after the client leaves, or a recording of the session itself. A dictated reflection can reduce the amount collected, but it still contains confidential information. Use a full recording only for a defined purpose, such as reviewing an agreed passage or preparing for supervision.

Agree on the recording before it starts

• Explain the purpose, who can access the audio and transcript, whether any external service will process them, and how long each will be kept.
• Confirm the recording is permitted under the rules that apply to your practice and obtain the required agreement or authorization. Offer a workable path without recording.
• For couples or group sessions, account for every participant. A bot-free recorder still needs an explicit conversation about recording.

Build a local workflow in Daisy

Daisy records and transcribes on the Mac and saves the archive in a folder you choose. For a workflow that keeps content on the device, leave cloud summaries and external destinations off. If you need an AI draft, choose a local model and test that configuration with fictional material first.

• Use a case code in the session title, keeping any identifying index separately protected. Codes reduce casual exposure; they do not anonymize the conversation.
• Keep the archive outside automatically synchronized folders unless that sync service is explicitly approved. Protect the Mac account, disk and backups.
• Review the transcript before using it. Correct speaker mix-ups and wording that changes meaning; distinguish what the client said from your own interpretation.

Prepare supervision material separately

Create the smallest useful excerpt for the agreed supervision purpose. Review indirect identifiers as well as names: a rare job, location or family event can identify someone. Share through an approved channel with an intended recipient, rather than granting access to your whole archive. Set separate retention decisions for raw audio, working transcripts and the official record; do not delete material subject to a preservation requirement.

Local storage is one control, not a compliance claim

In US practices covered by HIPAA, psychotherapy notes have a specific definition and additional protections. Not every therapy transcript qualifies as psychotherapy notes. Classify the records with the person responsible for privacy before choosing storage or disclosure rules. HHS: psychotherapy notes.

Daisy does not add its own encryption layer to saved meeting files. Device security, backup handling and access by other software remain your responsibility. A video-call provider may still process the call, even when Daisy makes no cloud copy. Daisy security model.