🖥️ For providers using the Oasys web app. To set up note templates or learn about other note types, see Note settings and other kinds of notes.
This article walks you through documenting a session, from taking notes and transcribing during the session to generating a note with Scribe, writing one by hand, and signing, amending, reviewing, and exporting your notes.
In this article
1. Taking notes during a session
A Session Notes box is available during any active session. On a desktop video session it sits in the Notes tab of the side panel; on smaller screens and in in-person sessions it sits below the video or transcription controls.
Type directly into the box. While the session is in progress, your notes auto-save about 5 seconds after you stop typing.
Notes are plain text during a session. After the session you can format them (bold, italic, headings, lists) in the note editor (see Reviewing and editing a note).
To attach a document or image, click Add additional notes → Upload File. Drag and drop, or browse for, a PDF, JPEG, JPG, HEIC or PNG file. The file is attached to the session and appears later as View File on the session.
To dictate, click Add additional notes → Start Dictation (see Dictation).
Session notes are private clinical notes and are never visible to your client.
💡 Tip: The Add additional notes menu is hidden on phone-sized screens. Use a tablet or computer to dictate or upload during a session, or add them afterwards from the note editor.
Saving the session
Click Save & Close when you're done. A session needs at least one of these before it can be saved:
Video sessions: session notes, an uploaded file, or a video call your client joined.
In-person sessions: session notes, an uploaded file, or a transcription.
Otherwise you'll see an Empty Session message.
2. Transcription (video and in-person)
Scribe writes the note from the session transcript plus anything you typed, dictated or uploaded. Oasys never records the session; it only transcribes it, and the transcript is deleted once the note is signed and locked.
📹 Video sessions
Transcription is controlled by the Transcribe button in the video toolbar. Its label shows the current state: Transcribe (off), Transcribing (on), Auto-retrying (waiting for your network to improve) or Failed (click the small retry icon to try again).
Transcription can start automatically when you join. You control this in Settings → Clinical → Feature settings → AI settings → Auto-start transcription. If it's off, you'll see a Transcription Off message when you join, and you can start it from the toolbar.
You can also turn automatic transcription off for one client: open the client's chart, click the settings (gear) icon → Preferences, and switch off AI Session Notes. This option only appears while your own Auto-start transcription setting is on.
For couple and family sessions, transcription only starts automatically if your Auto-start transcription setting is on and every current member has AI Session Notes switched on. Otherwise, start it from the toolbar.
If you stop transcription mid-session, Oasys warns you that Scribe won't have a transcript to work with, so use the notes box to capture the important details.
🏢 In-person sessions
In-person sessions show a Live Session Transcription strip above the notes box.
Click Start Transcription. The strip shows Live Transcription In Progress.
Use Pause Transcription and Resume Transcription as needed.
Click Save & Close when you're done. The transcript isn't shown during the session; it becomes available after the session is saved.
If a transcript already exists, the button reads Restart Transcription. Restarting overwrites the existing transcript, and you'll be asked to confirm.
Your screen is kept awake while transcribing on browsers that support it. Keep the laptop open and the tab active until you've saved.
When you save, Oasys finishes the transcription first and shows its progress. If you're offline, it resumes when your connection returns.
If it can't finish, you'll see Transcription upload didn't finish with Retry upload and Retry later. Nothing is lost, and the session isn't saved until the transcription completes.
If part of the transcription couldn't be recovered, Oasys saves the session with what it could recover and tells you so. Add anything missing to the note yourself.
3. Using Scribe (AI-generated notes)
Scribe generates a structured clinical note from your session when you save it. Scribe is available when AI Progress Notes is on (see Writing a note without AI).
Click Save & Close when you're done with a session. This opens the Session Settings dialog, where you give Scribe the context it needs.
Choose a Note Template. Templates are grouped as My templates and Practice templates. Picking a template fills in its default modalities and instructions.
Select the Therapeutic Modalities used in the session. Click Select therapeutic modalities... and search by name or abbreviation, for example CBT, EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Christian Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT), Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) or Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). ART and Art Therapy are separate options. You can select several.
Selected modalities keep a check mark in the list and appear as badges below it. Click a selected modality again, or remove its badge, to deselect it, or click Clear all.
Add any Additional Instructions, for example "Focus on the second half of the session" or "Remove mentions of topic X."
Tick Save these preferences for future sessions with this client if you want them pre-filled next time. You can still change them for any session.
Click + Add Risk Assessment or Mental Status Exam (Optional) if you want to add either one. It's separate from the AI-generated note and appears on the session's Risk & MSE tab.
Click Save Session. Scribe generates the note from your transcript, session notes, and the preferences you set, and the session is marked as completed.
While the note is being generated, the session shows Processing Session. The note and analysis appear automatically when they're ready, so you can close the panel and keep working.
✅ Good to know: These preferences tell Scribe how to write the note; the content itself comes from your transcript and your own notes. The modalities and instructions shown in Session Settings are exactly what Scribe uses. If you clear them, the note is generated with none, not with the template's. This is true even if your practice requires practice templates: you still choose the modalities and instructions, and can save them for the client.
For group sessions, the same settings apply to every attended member's note (see Group therapy).
Editing and regenerating
After saving, the session shows a Needs Review badge. Open it from the client's chart (My clients → the client → the session) to review the note on the Clinical Note tab.
Click Edit Session to change the note directly (see Reviewing and editing a note).
Click Re-generate Note to try again. This reopens Session Settings, where you can pick a different template or change modalities and instructions, then click Regenerate Note.
Re-generate Note is available only while the note is unsigned (or after a supervisor sends it back for revision), and only when AI Progress Notes is on.
If regeneration fails (for example, you're offline), you'll see Regeneration Failed and a message that the note was not changed. Your previous note stays in place.
Sessions with no clinical note yet
A completed session can have no clinical note, for example one created automatically when its appointment was marked completed. Its Clinical Note tab shows No clinical note yet with a Generate Note button.
Click Generate Note.
Enter your notes from the session.
Click Continue to Preferences and generate as usual.
4. Writing a note without AI
Scribe is optional, and you can still run video and in-person sessions, log sessions, and write and sign notes without it.
Go to Settings → Clinical → Feature settings → AI settings.
Switch off AI Progress Notes. Your practice may control this setting for you.
With AI Progress Notes off:
Clicking Save & Close shows a simple Save Session confirmation instead of the Session Settings dialog.
After the session, the Clinical Note tab shows No clinical note yet with an Add Clinical Note button. This opens a blank note laid out in the sections of your default template. Fill it in and save.
You can also write or edit any note by hand from Edit Session, even when Scribe is on.
5. Dictation and uploading handwritten notes
You can speak your notes or add text from a photo or scan instead of typing.
Dictation
During a session: click Add additional notes → Start Dictation, speak, then click Stop Dictation.
After a session: in Edit Session, click Dictate on Your Original Notes or on the Generated Clinical Note, then Stop Dictation.
Dictation isn't live. Your speech is transcribed after you click Stop Dictation (the button shows Loading... or Processing... while it works).
The text is added to the end of your notes, under a timestamped "Audio Transcription" heading.
If your microphone can't be reached, you'll see "Failed to access microphone. Please check your permissions."
Uploading handwritten or scanned notes
Open Edit Session and click Upload File on Your Original Notes.
Choose a photo or scan of your notes: PDF, JPEG, JPG, HEIC or PNG, up to 10MB (PDFs up to 10 pages).
Click Add to notes. Oasys reads the text from the file and adds it to Your Original Notes under a timestamped "Uploaded File" heading. The file itself isn't stored.
Review the text, then click Save Changes, and Re-generate Note if you want Scribe to use it.
6. Reviewing and editing a note after the session
Open the session and click Edit Session to change anything in it.
Your Original Notes: your raw observations, typed notes, dictation and uploaded text. It has a formatting toolbar (headings, bold, italic, bulleted and numbered lists), a Dictate button and an Upload File button.
Generated Clinical Note: the note that will be saved for this session. You can edit it and dictate into it.
Clinical Context: chief complaint, diagnosis and medications for this session, shown when the session is opened in the full view.
Risk Assessment & MSE, Session Analysis (if turned on), and any custom fields your practice has added.
Session details (the date, shown read-only, plus start and end time, session mode, and service) and billing details.
Click Save Changes when you're done, or Cancel Editing to discard.
Session tabs
The session view has these tabs, depending on what exists for the session: Analysis, Clinical Note, Risk & MSE, your practice's custom section, and Transcript. The Transcript tab (with a copy button) is shown only while the note is unsigned, because the transcript is deleted once the note is signed and locked.
⚠️ Important: A note that has never been signed can be removed with Delete Session. Signed notes can't be deleted. To change a signed note, unlock it (see Signing, locking, and amending notes).
7. Signing, locking, and amending notes
Signing confirms you've reviewed and approved the note and locks it against further edits.
Open the session and click Sign and Lock (Lock on a phone). The button appears once the note has content to review.
Confirm in the dialog.
After signing, the session shows Signed & Locked with the date and time. The session transcript is deleted, and the note can't be regenerated.
Billing on a signed note: you don't need to unlock a signed note to fix its billing. Use Edit Billing on the session.
Sessions imported from another system show a green Migrated badge instead of a signed or unsigned status. Their signature dates and amendment history stay visible.
⚠️ Important: If you're under supervision, you'll see Sign and Submit for Review instead, and Unlock Note isn't available (see Supervisor review).
Unlocking and amending a signed note
If you're not under supervision, you can reopen a signed note to correct it.
Click Unlock Note in the session header.
Enter a reason. You must give one.
Make your changes. The session shows Unlocked while it's open.
Click Sign and Lock again when you're done.
Unlocking reopens the note with its current text and saves an amendment capturing the note before and after your changes.
Every unlock and re-sign is listed under Amended N times on the session, with the reason for each unlock.
While a note is unlocked you can correct the clinical documentation and the session details: start and end time, session mode, and service. The amendment captures those changes too. The session date can't be edited.
Once a session is billed, its time and session mode are locked. You'll see "Time and session mode can't be changed while this session is billed."
8. Supervisor review
If you're supervised, your notes go to your supervisor for approval instead of being locked straight away.
If you're supervised
Click Sign and Submit for Review (Submit on a phone).
Choose a supervisor in the dialog if you have more than one. Your primary supervisor is pre-selected.
Confirm with Submit for review. This signs the note, sends it to your supervisor, notifies them, and stops further edits until the review is complete.
The session then shows one of these statuses, with your supervisor's name:
Pending Approval: waiting for your supervisor.
Needs Revision: your supervisor sent it back. Their comments appear under Supervisor Feedback. You can edit the note (and use Re-generate Note) without unlocking it, then click Resubmit for Review.
Resubmitted: waiting for your supervisor again.
Approved: review complete.
If you're a supervisor
Open the Supervision tab and select a submitted session. The review panel shows the clinical note, the provider's original notes and the clinical context.
Add Review Comments. They're optional when approving and required when requesting a revision.
Click Approve Session or Request Revision.
Only the supervisor a session was submitted to can approve it or request a revision. Other supervisors see "Review actions are unavailable because this session is assigned to [name]."
9. Exporting a client's notes
You can download all of a client's session notes at once, or a single note.
Open the client's chart in My clients and click the settings (gear) icon → Export data.
Set a Start date and End date if you want to. Leave both blank to include all sessions.
Click Export. You'll get a ZIP file with one PDF per session note.
The export includes your completed sessions for that client, meaning sessions with a completed appointment, plus migrated sessions. If nothing matches, you'll see "No sessions found for export."
Treatment plans aren't included. Download those from the treatment plan's ⋮ → Download PDF.
To download one note, open the session and click ⋮ → Download Note.
Each note PDF is titled with the name of the note template used for the session.
In a practice, Practice HQ users with access to clinical charts can export a client's session notes from Practice HQ → Providers → a provider → a client → Export.
10. Troubleshooting: a transcript or note didn't come through
Most missing notes or transcripts have a simple explanation.
The note is still processing
The session shows Processing Session while the note is generated, and the note appears automatically. If a session shows Processing failed, open it. You can write or generate the note from your own notes with Edit Session, Generate Note or Add Clinical Note.
An in-person transcription didn't finish
If you saw Transcription upload didn't finish, stay on the same device and browser, reconnect to the internet, and save the session again to retry.
A video session has no transcript
Check whether transcription was running. It may have been off (auto-start is off, or the client's AI Session Notes preference is off), stopped during the session, or showing Failed in the toolbar. Without a transcript, Scribe writes the note from your typed, dictated or uploaded notes only.
A note seems to be missing
Check that you're looking at the right client and session. Group sessions also appear in each member's chart, with a note that the session is part of the group.
Unsigned notes for no-show sessions and archived clients don't appear in Notes to sign.
A session created automatically when an appointment was marked completed has no clinical note until you add one (see Sessions with no clinical note yet).
After you sign a note, the transcript is deleted and the Transcript tab isn't shown.
If none of these explain it, contact Oasys support from the ? menu → Contact Us with the client's initials and the session date.
Frequently asked questions
Does Oasys record my sessions?
No. Oasys never records sessions; it only transcribes them. In a video session, Oasys transcribes the conversation while transcription is on. In an in-person session, Oasys transcribes the session after you click Start Transcription. The transcript is deleted once the note is signed and locked.
Can I change the note template after generating?
Yes, while the note is unsigned. Click Re-generate Note, pick a different template in Session Settings, and click Regenerate Note. You can also edit the content freely with Edit Session.
What if Scribe doesn't capture the session well?
Click Re-generate Note to try again, or edit the note directly. You can also add Additional Instructions to guide Scribe more specifically.
Why didn't Scribe use my template's modalities?
Scribe uses exactly what's shown in Session Settings. If you cleared the modalities or instructions there, the note is generated without them. Pick the template again to refill its defaults.
Can I write notes without AI?
Yes. Switch off AI Progress Notes in Settings → Clinical → Feature settings, or just edit the note by hand (see Writing a note without AI).
Can I unlock a signed note?
Not under supervision: yes. Use Unlock Note in the session header to reopen the note for editing. You must give a reason, and the amendment is kept permanently. Sign and lock it again when you're done.
Under supervision: your supervisor manages revisions. When your supervisor requests changes, the note becomes editable again until you resubmit it.
Can I fix a session's time, mode or service after signing?
Yes, by unlocking the note, as long as the session hasn't been billed. Once it's billed, time and session mode are locked. The session date can't be edited.
Can I delete a note?
Only if it has never been signed: use Delete Session. Signed notes can't be deleted, only amended through Unlock Note.
Do my clients see my notes?
No. Clients never see session notes, transcripts or analysis in their portal. Inside Oasys, your supervisor (if you have one) can see notes you submit for review.
In a practice, colleagues with access to the client's clinical chart (for example, a care-team member or a Practice HQ user whose role includes clinical access) may also view them. Psychotherapy notes are only ever visible to you.