Anxiety and Progress Notes for Therapists

Dr. Maelisa McCaffrey reviews how anxiety in therapists can impact writing progress notes. She shares what leads to this common issue and provides one quick tip any counselor can use to improve their therapy case notes today.
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[@SteffiP4Liberty]

I am such a perfectionist. Thank you for calming my nerves!!

[@rivergrow9358]

Wow, this was so obvious but such an AHA moment for me! I have been struggling with notes for so long, and for me it was completely what you said regarding trying to redo the work every single time. Thank you so much!

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

So glad this helped! It's easy to get caught up in the perfectionism of writing notes.

[@whobeyou5342]

After reading some notes others left for me to use, i realize they didn't have note anxiety.... and i Know without a doubt on my worst day, i would have done a better note- so, I don't worry about it anymore.

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

That's awesome! Yes, seeing what others do can sometimes help relieve our fear that we're not doing a "good enough" job.

[@evey115]

Thank you so much for these videos!!

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

You’re so welcome!

[@emawilliams3284]

Thank you for this video. I needed to hear this.

[@AllGood_Thingss]

💗

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

It's such a common struggle!

[@georgiagibsongg]

I love this video.

[@lulu52110]

thank you!

[@kimbecker4880]

Maelisa, I always get something good from your videos! My question about checkboxes has always been this: "Do we not have to say HOW we used the intervention within the context of our note?" For example, "Client discussed relationship issues with spouse." Intervention box checked "Communication skills." This is where I get bogged down, stating HOW I used an intervention in context. Thanks!

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

In this example I'd say "communication skills" needs some more detail... so "Practiced communication skills" or "Identified communication skills" would be great!

[@kimbecker4880]

@@MaelisaMcCaffrey, thanks! Always appreciate your help and expertise!

[@DrAlisonMarks]

Any advice for a therapist with OCPD that is impacting their ability to complete their notes? This person is planning to seek ADA accommodations but there’s very little guidance for how those could be applied in a situation where the primary difficulty is completing timely documentation… I would love any insight you might have! Feel free to PM if that’s easier

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

NO writing! Meaning no writing complete sentences. Very clearly spell out exactly what they complete in each section of the note. If possible, make pre-created checkboxes the only option for each section of the note. Identify exactly how many checkboxes to complete. For example, 3 interventions and 2 topics discussed in session. Clarify that any free text fields are ONLY for emergency/high risk scenarios. They may still spend some time second guessing themselves, but this will literally give them far less space to obsess over notes.

[@DrAlisonMarks]

@@MaelisaMcCaffrey helpful- thank you! I’ll bring these ideas to admins and discuss implementing for the staff.

[@paulawatson5679]

I needed this what if you have to write SOAP note’s ?

[@MaelisaMcCaffrey]

You can still use checkboxes or bullet points to complete each section of a SOAP note! It saves so much mental effort. If you're writing for an agency or something where you don't have control over the template, have 10-15 common phrases for each section in a cheat sheet for yourself so you can easily copy and paste.

[@lauralofy1676]

@@MaelisaMcCaffrey Came here to look for that. So, the common statements are complete -- not "finish the sentence" style, I assume, because the former is more efficient. Are these pretty generic? That is my question for you, how generic/broad vs detailed should notes be, even when short? Eg. discussed family dynamics (broad) vs. talked about her jealousy with her boyfriend? (specific)