Clinical record
Clinical notes software for counsellors and therapists
Session notes, assessments and treatment plans in Within, connected to the enquiry and the invoice in Reach.
Clinical notes software for therapists is the record of the work: the assessment, the plan, the session note, consent, and the history you need next time. Counselling notes software is the same idea in the language many UK practitioners search for. An electronic record is not a hospital system and it is not an NHS product. It is the file for a private practice or a group, kept so that the note is signed, findable, and not trapped in a personal notebook.
Within is that record in Reach + Within. Reach is the front office that feeds it, so the client is not typed twice. The UK price is £60 a month per clinician, with admin users free. This page is about the notes, not about rehab pricing. Rehabs request a quote.
What a counselling note needs
A useful note says what the client brought, what you observed that matters, your impression today, and what happens next. SOAP notes and DAP notes are two formats, with fictional examples. BACP does not mandate either layout. It does expect records that are accurate and adequate. The note should be one you could show the client.
Write it the day of the session. Sign it. If you correct it later, the correction should be visible rather than a silent overwrite. A colleague covering your leave should find the risk line without calling you. That is the test of the format, not the logo on the software.
Documents, consent forms and releases of information belong on the same file. A scan of an old report can sit in the history. Bulk migration from another system is quoted, because it depends on the quality of what you already have. Do not assume a sales call has priced it.
Assist and the signature
You can write every note yourself. If the client agrees, you can record in the room or on a video call, or import a recording, and Assist will draft. The draft is not the record. You edit it and you sign it. Assist does not diagnose. The consent checklist is recording therapy sessions, and the product explanation is AI session notes.
A PA must not need this screen to send an invoice. Roles are how you keep counselling notes private while the practice still gets paid. The audit trail shows who opened the file and when. Because the record lives in the system, a failed laptop is not the end of the notes.
What this is not
It is not a certified electronic patient record for a hospital. It is not statutory social-work case management for a government department. Outcome scales are coming soon, so do not choose it this month if a mandated outcome graph is the only requirement. Medical aid claims are a South African question and are coming soon; they are not a feature of the UK notes workflow described here.
It is also not the cheapest notes app in the UK. Sessionly, NoteSono and others publish lower solo prices and rank for counselling notes searches. If you only want a place to type a note, and you are happy with a separate diary, those products may fit better. Read how to choose and the Cliniko and WriteUpp pages before you decide. We would rather you buy a notes app that you will actually use than a suite you resent.
The record and the rest of the practice
Notes software fails in private practice when the booking lives somewhere else. The client changes a number in the diary and the file is stale. Or the invoice goes out with a sentence of clinical detail because that was the only way to remember what to bill. Connecting the note to the enquiry and the invoice is why this product is also therapy practice management software.
You can watch the notes demo on the demos page. The trial is 30 days for therapists and group practices, starting with demo clients, with no card. Put a fictional client through a note and an export before you put a real one in. How long you then keep that real note is your policy. The sources are in how long to keep therapy records. The software will not choose the number of years for you.
Client data is hosted in the EU (Netherlands). For UK GDPR, adequacy regulations cover the EEA. The GDPR guide is the longer explanation, including what we do not claim.
Many counsellors also keep reflective process notes. The guide on process notes vs session notes explains how they differ from the record, and why both can be personal data.
Related reading
Clinical notes questions
Can I write notes without recording?
Yes. Recording is optional and only with the client's consent. You can write the note yourself, in your own format.
Who signs an Assist draft?
The clinician reviews, edits and signs. Assist does not diagnose and it never signs the record.
Can admin staff read the notes?
No. PA, admin and accounts roles can handle bookings and invoices. They cannot open clinical notes, even with a direct link.
Try it with demo clients.
30 days free for therapists and group practices. No card needed. Move to real clients once the data agreement and consent are in place.