This guide covers scheduling appointments, managing your calendar, and running therapy sessions on Oasys, whether by video, in person, or phone.
In this article:
1. Creating an appointment
You can create appointments from the Calendar tab or directly from a client's page.
From the Calendar tab:
Go to the Calendar tab and click Create Appointment (or click directly on a time slot).
Choose a service type (this sets the default duration, mode, and pricing).
Select a client from your caseload.
Select a session mode: Telehealth (video), In-Person, or Phone.
Confirm the date, time, and any pricing details.
Choose a recurrence schedule, if applicable.
Select a room assignment, if applicable.
From the Client Page:
In the Sessions and Notes section, click New and select Schedule Session.
Complete all the steps above; the client is already pre-populated.
The client receives an email notification with a calendar invite. For telehealth sessions, a secure video link is included automatically.
2. Setting up recurring sessions
For clients you see regularly:
When creating or editing an appointment, select a recurring pattern (weekly, biweekly, etc.).
Set an end date or number of occurrences.
Recurring sessions appear as a series on your calendar.
You can reschedule or cancel a single occurrence or all future sessions in the series.
3. Client self-booking
If you've set up your availability, clients can book their own appointments:
The client selects a service type from your available options.
They choose a session mode (if the service supports multiple).
They pick a date and available time slot.
The booking is confirmed instantly (or requires your approval, depending on your settings).
💡 Tip: If you want clients to book from your website, check out the Scheduling Widget, which embeds directly on your site.
4. Calendar views
Calendar view — a weekly or monthly grid showing appointments color-coded by booking status.
List view — a chronological list of appointments grouped by week, with navigation to view past and upcoming sessions.
Appointments are color-coded by status: scheduled (upcoming and in-progress), completed, no-show, cancelled, and pending approval.
5. Rescheduling or cancelling
Click any appointment on your calendar to open the detail modal, then:
Reschedule — choose a new date and time, optionally add a reason, and the client is notified.
Cancel — select a cancellation reason. The client is notified immediately if you choose to notify them.
Cancel Late — select a Cancel Late status if the client cancels within your late cancellation window. This automatically charges the late cancellation fee, if applicable. The client is notified immediately if you choose to notify them.
For recurring sessions, you can reschedule or cancel a single instance or all future sessions.
Change the status — open the appointment, click the three-dot menu, select Edit, set the Status dropdown to No Show (or another status), and click Save.
Clients can also request to reschedule, which you can approve (moves to their requested time) or reject (keeps the original time). To propose a different time instead, reject the request and manually reschedule from the calendar.
6. Starting a telehealth (video) session
Click Start Session on the appointment (from your Dashboard, Calendar, or My Clients tab).
Your camera and microphone activate automatically. You can toggle them on or off.
The client joins from their end and enters a waiting room until you admit them.
During the call, you can share your screen, use virtual backgrounds, toggle fullscreen, and use in-call chat.
⚠️ Important: Oasys does not record video sessions. Live transcription is available only until the note is signed.
7. Starting an in-person session
Click Start Session and select In-Person from the session mode dropdown.
A session timer starts automatically.
You can enable audio transcription to help with note-taking. Audio is captured for transcription purposes but is not saved as a recording for you to download.
8. Starting a phone session
Phone sessions are logged after the call, not in real-time — there's no live timer or in-app recording.
Click Start Session on a phone appointment to open the Log Session form
Enter the session details and your notes — either during the call or afterward
Click Save
For more detail, see "Log a previous session."
9. During any session
While a session is active, you have access to:
Floating notes panel — write notes in real time with auto-save. Use the Add additional notes button to start voice dictation (transcribed and appended) or upload a file (PDF, JPEG, JPG, HEIC, PNG).
AI session preparation — a pre-session summary of client history, health data, and previous session themes.
AI assistant — ask questions about health data trends, get intervention suggestions, or receive help with documentation.
In-call chat (telehealth) — send text messages inside the video call, visible to everyone including the client.
View the client's profile — open the Client tab in the side panel for a read-only snapshot (date of birth/age, chief complaint, diagnosis, mental health history, current medications). Available on desktop side panel for individual sessions only.
10. Ending a session
Click End Session / Save & Close when the session is complete.
Review and finalize your notes by selecting your note template, therapeutic modality, and any additional summary instructions.
Click Save Session.
Review and approve your notes, then click Sign and Lock to create a permanent record.
💡 If you have a supervisor, you'll see Submit for Review instead of Sign and Lock. This sends the note to your supervisor for approval before it's finalized.
11. Logging a previous session
To record a session that happened outside the platform:
From the Calendar or My Clients tab, select Log Previous Session.
Enter the date, time, duration, and session mode.
Add your notes and sign when ready.
12. Blocking time on your calendar
Not everything on your calendar is a therapy session. You can block time for meetings, breaks, admin work, personal time, or anything else—and clients won't be able to book during those hours.
To create a time block:
From the Calendar tab, click Create Appointment and switch to the Calendar Block tab:
Select the date and time range you want to block.
Optionally add a title (e.g., "Team Meeting", "Lunch", "Out of Office") and details.
Click Save. The block appears on your calendar and prevents client bookings during that window.
Recurring time blocks
For regular commitments (weekly staff meetings, daily lunch breaks, etc.):
Set a frequency: weekly, biweekly, or a custom interval.
Set an end date or leave it open-ended.
Manage the series later — you can extend it, cancel future instances, or delete individual ones.
Callout:
💡 These are not billable — they're purely for managing your availability. Think of them as calendar holds that keep your schedule accurate.
💡 If you've connected Google Calendar and enabled "Block Google Calendar conflicts" in Settings → Scheduling → Scheduling Policies, your Google Calendar events automatically block bookings — no need to create separate overrides for those.
13. Scheduling policies
Control how clients book, cancel, and interact with your calendar.
Where to find it: Settings → Scheduling → Scheduling Policies
Scheduling policies
Allow direct booking — let clients book without requiring your approval.
Require booking approval — all client bookings require your approval before they're confirmed.
Block Google Calendar conflicts — automatically mark time slots as unavailable when you have events on your connected Google Calendar.
Minimum notice period — how far in advance clients must book (e.g., 24 hours, 48 hours, 1 week).
Maximum advance booking — how far into the future clients can book (e.g., up to 3 months). Set to unlimited if you don't want a cap.
Cancellation policies
Allow client cancellations — if disabled, clients cannot cancel on their own.
Require cancellation approval — all client cancellations require your approval.
Late cancellation threshold — the window before an appointment where cancellations are considered "late" (e.g., within 24 hours). Cancellations within this window may require approval and can incur late fees.
Rescheduling
Allow client rescheduling — if enabled, clients can request to reschedule their own appointments.
Client Notifications
Appointment updates — automatically notifies clients when you schedule, reschedule, or cancel an appointment.
Enable reminders — automatically send clients a reminder before their appointment.
Reminder timing — choose when to send (e.g., 24 hours before, 2 hours before).
14. No-show and late cancellation fees
Fees are configured per service type, not as a global setting. This lets you charge different fees for different types of sessions.
Where to find it: Go to Settings → Scheduling → Default Services, then edit a service.
No-show fees
Set a fee that applies when a client doesn't show up for their appointment:
You can set a single no-show fee for the service, or set different fees per session mode (telehealth, in-person, phone) if the service supports multiple modes.
No-show fees are applied when you mark a booking as No Show: open the appointment, then use the three-dot menu, Edit, set the Status dropdown to No Show, and click Save.
Once marked, the no-show fee is used during billing — it appears in the Bill Sessions tab like any other billable item.
Late cancellation fees
Set a fee for cancellations that happen within your late cancellation threshold:
Like no-show fees, late cancellation fees can be set as a single amount or per session mode.
When a client cancels within the late window (configured in Scheduling Policies), the system automatically flags it as a late cancellation.
If you approve the cancellation, the late cancellation fee is stored on the booking and becomes billable.
You can still approve a late cancellation without applying the fee — it's your choice.
💡 How it all connects: The late cancellation threshold is set in Scheduling Policies (e.g., "24 hours before"). The actual fee amount is set per service in Default Services. Both need to be configured for late cancellation fees to apply.
⚠️ Note: No-show and late cancellation fees are only billable if the client's billing type is set to Cash Pay or Insurance (not "Not Billed"). If a client is set to Not Billed, fees won't appear in Bill Sessions.
Frequently asked questions
Can clients see my calendar?
Clients can only see your available time slots when booking—not your full calendar or other clients' appointments.What happens if I have a conflict on my Google Calendar?
If you've connected Google Calendar, those time blocks are automatically marked as unavailable. Clients won't be able to book during those times.Are video sessions recorded?
No. Oasys never records video or audio. Live transcription is available only until the note is signed.Can I create a session without a scheduled appointment?
Yes. Use "Log Previous Session" from the Calendar or My Clients tab. It creates a full session record without needing a booking—including AI notes, billing, and all other features.What if my client doesn't show up?
Open the Calendar tab, click the appointment to open the session details, click the three-dot menu, select Edit, set the Status dropdown to No Show, and click Save. If you've configured a no-show fee on that service type, it becomes billable in Bill Sessions.How do late cancellation fees work?
First, set your late cancellation threshold in Settings → Scheduling → Scheduling Policies (e.g., 24 hours). Then set the fee amount per service in Settings → Scheduling → Default Services. When a client cancels within the threshold, you decide whether to apply the fee.Can I charge different no-show fees for telehealth vs. in-person?
Yes. When editing a service that supports multiple session modes, you can set separate no-show and late cancellation fees for each mode.