Some of our therapists use an AI “scribe”, NovoNote or Heidi Health, both Australian, health-specific systems, to help create a written summary of your session. AI may also assist, in a supporting role, with:

• Letters or reports written for third parties (e.g. GPs, case managers)

• Letters of support

• Summarising your monitoring questionnaire results over time, if you are a longer-term client

• Giving your therapist private feedback on their own session delivery, to support their ongoing professional development

In every case, AI is a support tool. Your therapist reviews, corrects and takes responsibility for anything that comes from it.

Our team may also use general AI tools like ChatGPT to help with things such as report templates or general wording. These tools are never given any information about you or your sessions, only our approved clinical note-taking systems (described above) are used for anything related to your care.

Neither system retains a recording of your session:

• NovoNote: audio is only held briefly to produce a transcript, then deleted. Once your therapist's note is generated and saved, the transcript is deleted too, no audio is ever kept. Data is stored on Australian servers. (Source: novopsych.com/novonote-security)

• Heidi Health: your session is transcribed as it happens; the audio itself is never stored or able to be played back. (Source: support.heidihealth.com, “Data & Security at Heidi Health”)

Only the final written note, checked and completed by your therapist, is kept as part of your clinical record.

AI note-taking has real limitations, and we take them seriously. After each AI-assisted note is generated, your therapist reviews it to check nothing important is missing, correct any errors, and remove anything the AI has mistakenly added (sometimes called a “hallucination”). Your therapist also adds things AI cannot pick up, how you presented, your body language and emotional expression, and how this session connects with what they already know about you, to build a fuller picture that informs your care.

These session notes exist for one reason: to help your therapist provide you with continuous, informed care between sessions. They are not written for lawyers, courts, employers, or any other third party, and we will always strongly recommend that you do not consent to these notes being released for those purposes. If you need documentation for a third party, please talk to your therapist about a letter or report written specifically for that purpose.

• You can decline AI note-taking for any session — your therapist will take notes manually instead.

• You can ask your therapist which tool they use and how it works, at any time.

• You can withdraw your consent to AI use at any point, including partway through your time with us.

• If you have a concern about how AI has been used in your care, you can raise it with your therapist or contact our Practice Director directly.

We're happy to talk through any of this in more detail. Please speak with your therapist, or contact Unburden Psychology directly.