What’s Missing From Your Charts: Writing Great Notes
Tokens may not be used with webinars
2025
If you are a psychotherapist who never received training in how to write progress notes, you are in good company. But you may not realize how your current note-keeping habits can hurt you — or your clients. Especially with insurance plans more frequently reviewing client charts — even those of out-of-network therapists — this training couldn’t be more essential.
This three-hour webinar will give you a great overview of how to write progress notes, with an eye toward meeting legal, ethical, and licensing boards requirements. You’ll be given tips to create brief, helpful notes that can allow you to feel confident if you ever receive a records request, or if you have to defend yourself in a complaint. In addition, you will learn about health plan documentation requirements, in case you are audited. For all therapists, more detailed notes can mean protecting ourselves, as well as helping clients get the treatment they deserve.
Target audience: This course is appropriate for all mental health professionals
Content level: Introductory/Intermediate
Educational Objectives
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to
- Identify 2 ways that keeping vague, late, or non-existent progress notes can harm therapists and clients
- Identify 5 common health plan documentation requirements
- Identify legal issues related to altering notes or writing notes long after a session
Syllabus
- Why Don't Therapists Keep Better Notes?
- Why Therapists Should Keep Better Notes
- Why There Has Been an Increase in Chart Reviews
- Documenting Medical Necessity: The Key to Treatment Approvals:
- What Insurance / Licensing Boards Require in Intakes
- What Insurance / Licensing Boards Require in Progress Notes
- Telehealth Documentation
- 1 Sample Poor Progress Note
- 7 Sample Good Progress Notes with two different templates including SOAP
- Audits: Reasons Charts Might be Requested
- Altering Notes After the Fact
- If Time: Keeping Up With Notes, and Treatment Plans -- A Quick Overview
