---
title: "Recording therapy sessions for supervision — Memory Notch"
url: https://memorynotch.app/blog/recording-therapy-sessions-for-supervision/
---

MEMORY NOTCH BLOG

# Recording therapy sessions for supervision

Recording therapy sessions for supervision needs consent first, and one 2026 ethics code now covers transcription apps. What codes say, where files live.

ON THIS PAGE

01Can therapists record sessions for supervision?02What does a consent form for recording sessions cover?03Where should a therapy session recording live?04How do you use a transcript in supervision?05What not to do with a session recording06Where Memory Notch fits, and where it doesn't07Frequently asked questions08Sources09Related posts

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Published November 6, 2026 · By [Cho Yin Yong](https://memorynotch.app/about/#cho-yin-yong)

Yes. Recording therapy sessions for supervision (reviewing your work with a senior clinician) is allowed when the client agrees before the recording starts. The main US counseling and psychology ethics codes require the client's permission. The US family therapy code, revised from January 1, 2026, wants it in writing and covers transcription services too.

In the UK, the main counselling body's 2026 framework asks for consent before client data goes into any digital tool. Delete the file after supervision.

- **Ask first:** every code below requires the client's permission before you record.
- **Supervision needs its own yes:** a supervisor hearing the audio or reading a transcript needs the client's permission too.
- **A recording is a record:** UK guidance lists audio and video of sessions as part of the client record.
- **Clinics set the details:** one university form lets the client withdraw at any time and destroys the recording after review.
- **Storage matters:** a cloud app is one more party holding the session.

Checked November 6, 2026.

## Can therapists record sessions for supervision?

Yes, with the client's informed consent, given before the recording starts. Each professional body says so in its own words:

|  Body and code |  What it says about recording |
| --- | --- |
|  American Counseling Association (ACA), Code of Ethics, 2014 |  B.6.c: counselors get permission before recording sessions. B.6.d: they also need permission before supervisors, faculty or peers observe a session, review a transcript or view a recording. |
|  American Psychological Association (APA), Ethics Code, amended effective 2017 |  4.03: psychologists get permission from everyone they serve before recording their voices or images. |
|  American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), Code of Ethics, effective January 1, 2026 |  1.11: therapists get informed consent and written authorization before recording images, video or audio, using any transcription services, or allowing third-party observation. |
|  British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Ethical Framework 2026 |  2.1e: assess any AI or digital tool first, understand how it stores data, and get informed consent before putting anyone's personal data into it. 3.2b: store records securely, under the data protection rules where they are kept. |

Checked November 6, 2026.

The counseling and psychology codes are both being revised. The counseling association [plans a new code in 2026](https://www.counseling.org/about/a-look-ahead). The psychology association's [task force](https://www.apa.org/ethics/task-force) is drafting one. Check the current edition before you quote a clause.

The counseling code also gives trainees a duty of their own. Under F.1.c, supervisees tell clients how supervision limits confidentiality. They also say who will see the records and how they are kept. That way the client knows the supervisor will hear the session before agreeing to the recording.

### What about the law?

Ethics codes add to the law; they don't replace it. American federal law allows a recording when one person in the conversation consents. The [Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press](https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide/) counts about 11 states that mainly require everyone's consent. A signed consent form from the client satisfies either rule. If your practice falls under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), ask whoever runs compliance how its rules apply to session recordings.

In the UK, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) names the laws in its framework: the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR. It also asks for a privacy notice that tells clients how you collect, store and protect their data. If you're unsure, ask your supervisor or training provider before the first recorded session. This post is not legal advice.

## What does a consent form for recording sessions cover?

A good recording consent form names the purpose, who will hear the recording, where it is kept, when it is deleted, and how to say no. University training clinics publish their forms, and two are worth reading side by side.

The [University of Texas at San Antonio counseling department's policy](https://education.utsa.edu/_documents/counseling/student-resources/forms/audio_or_video_recording_policy_6.30.17.pdf) requires practicum and internship students to get written consent. The form lets the student record the session and play parts of it to their class, their onsite supervisor and their university supervisor. The client's page says:

- The client doesn't have to be recorded.
- They can withdraw permission during or after the session, and their care won't change.
- They can review the recording with the student counselor.
- The recording is destroyed once supervision has reviewed it.
- Consent expires 180 days after signing.

The [University of Utah Counseling Center form](https://counselingcenter.utah.edu/_resources/documents/services/digitalrecordingconsentform2.0.pdf) covers the same ground in four rules. Either the client or the counselor can stop the recording at any time. Files sit on a secure network. Only the client, the counselor, the supervisor and appropriate colleagues may review a recording. All recordings are deleted when the work ends, or at an agreed time.

|  Item on the form |  Why it's there |
| --- | --- |
|  Purpose |  Supervision and training, and nothing else unless the client agrees to more |
|  Who hears it |  Named roles: you, your supervisor, perhaps a class |
|  Storage |  Where the file lives and who can open it |
|  Deletion |  After supervisory review, at the end of the work, or by a date |
|  Right to refuse or withdraw |  Saying no doesn't change the client's care |
|  Expiry |  A set time limit, such as the Texas form's 180 days |

The detail matters because clients can change their minds. BACP's [record-keeping guidance](https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/20401/bacp-confidentiality-and-record-keeping-crp-gpia065-jan24.pdf) describes a counsellor whose client agreed to audio recording. Four sessions later, the client said she'd hate anyone else to hear what she had said about her father. The counsellor and her supervisor had listened to extracts the day before. A form that named the supervisor upfront would have given the client that choice before anything was recorded.

## Where should a therapy session recording live?

Keep it on a device you control, encrypted, shared only with your supervisor, and deleted after review. Each extra copy, in a sync service, an email or a cloud transcription app, is one more place the session can leak.

### Cloud apps

A cloud transcription service keeps the audio on its own servers. A practice covered by HIPAA [may use a cloud service for health information](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html), says the Department of Health and Human Services. It must first sign a business associate agreement with the provider. Ask the vendor if it will sign one. Check what your clinic has approved.

The family therapy code's 1.11 lists transcription services among the things that need written authorization. BACP's 2.1e asks you to understand how a tool stores data before you use it.

### On-device recording and transcription

Some apps record and transcribe on the device itself, so the audio never leaves it. Memory Notch for Mac works this way. Recording, transcription and numbered speaker labels run on your Mac. Audio and transcripts are saved as plain files in `~/memory`. The [privacy policy](https://memorynotch.app/privacy/) lists the app's three network requests, and none of them carries a recording. For the wider case, see [why your meeting notes don't need the cloud](https://memorynotch.app/blog/why-your-meeting-notes-dont-need-the-cloud/).

Memory Notch is a personal recorder, as our [clinician page](https://memorynotch.app/secure-ambient-scribe/) explains. It offers no business associate agreement, no electronic health record integration and no HIPAA claim. Recording locally doesn't replace the client's consent. Your computer's backups, sync software and any tool you point at `~/memory` also decide where the files can go.

For encryption, [Apple's FileVault page](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/protect-data-on-your-mac-with-filevault-mh11785/mac) says a Mac with Apple's own chip encrypts its data automatically. Turning on FileVault adds a layer: nobody can decrypt the data without your login password. Turn it on before the first recorded session.

### Delete after supervision

The Texas and Utah forms both end with deletion: after supervisory review in Texas, and when the work ends in Utah. The counseling code (B.6.h) and the family therapy code (2.5) both ask you to dispose of records in a way that protects confidentiality. BACP counts a recording as part of the record, so your usual retention policy covers it. If your agency's policy says otherwise, follow it.

## How do you use a transcript in supervision?

A transcript lets you find the moment you want to discuss, quote the client's exact words, and play the audio from that point. That beats scrubbing through fifty minutes of tape.

The app labels voices by number, so a two-person session reads as Speaker 1 and Speaker 2: one is you and the other is the client. The app tells voices apart but doesn't know who anyone is (see [what speaker diarization is, and where it fails](https://memorynotch.app/blog/what-is-speaker-diarization/)). For couples or family sessions it separates up to eight speakers per channel. Overlapping voices are still hard to separate.

Three habits help:

1. **Note the moment.** Jot down when the rupture happened.
2. **Check the audio before you quote.** Transcription can contain errors, so play the clip before you bring a line to supervision.
3. **Share the excerpt, not the whole file**, if the consent form allows it. Remove anything that identifies the client.

The counseling code's B.6.d applies here too: a supervisor reading a transcript needs the client's permission, just like a supervisor listening to the audio.

For an online session, the Mac app records your microphone and the computer's audio together, so it captures the client's side of the video call. Wear headphones so the microphone doesn't pick up the client a second time. System audio needs the Screen Recording permission.

## What not to do with a session recording

Most leaks come from convenience. Avoid these:

- **A phone that syncs to your personal cloud.** The file then sits with a provider your client never agreed to.
- **Emailing the file to your supervisor.** That leaves copies in two mailboxes. Use the transfer method your program approves.
- **Naming the file after the client.** The Texas policy tells students to keep identifying details off recordings.
- **Pasting a transcript into an AI chatbot.** BACP's 2.1e asks for the client's consent first, and the chatbot's data policy then applies.
- **Keeping it "just in case".** If the form says the recording is destroyed after review, destroy it after review.

## Where Memory Notch fits, and where it doesn't

The app records and transcribes a session on your own device, with nothing uploaded. That answers the storage question and nothing else. Consent, a secure place for the file and deletion on schedule stay your job.

- **Mac:** Apple Silicon, macOS 26 or later. Free recordings stop at five minutes and keep everything captured. A [licence](https://memorynotch.app/get/) costs $79 once or $7.99 a month, cancel anytime. Prices are in American dollars.
- **iPhone and iPad:** [on the App Store](https://memorynotch.app/ios/), version 26 or later. Recording, transcription and speaker labels run on the device, offline, with no account. Recordings are files in the app's folder, which you can see in the Files app.
- **Android:** [on Google Play](https://memorynotch.app/android/), Android 12 or newer. The app has no internet permission, and its notes are never backed up to Google's cloud. Live transcription needs 8 gigabytes of memory; on phones with less, the transcript appears after you press Stop.
- **Both phone apps:** free recordings last up to five minutes, and your first two longer recordings run to the end. A one-time $5.99 in-app purchase removes the limit; that is the price in the United States, and the store shows yours. You buy it separately from the Mac licence.

What it doesn't do: it writes no clinical notes or summaries, it names no speakers, and library search covers titles and metadata, not every word. It doesn't make a recording compliant with anything, and we haven't tested it inside a clinic's own workflow. For recording any conversation in the room, see the guide to [recording and transcribing an in-person meeting](https://memorynotch.app/blog/record-in-person-meetings/). For research interviews, see [transcribing qualitative research interviews](https://memorynotch.app/blog/transcribe-interviews-qualitative-research/).

## Frequently asked questions

Can a therapist record a session without the client's consent?

No. The counseling, psychology and family therapy codes all require the client's permission before a session is recorded, and the family therapy code wants it in writing. In states that require all-party consent, a recording made without it can also break the law. Ask in writing before the session. Saying no should have no effect on the client's care.

Is it legal to record therapy sessions in the UK?

Yes, with consent. BACP's own record-keeping guidance describes a supervisor suggesting a counsellor audio-record sessions with the client's agreement. Its 2026 framework asks practitioners to follow the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR, keep records securely, and get informed consent before client data goes into digital tools. Your training provider and placement will have their own policies. This is not legal advice.

Can clients record their therapy sessions?

The professional codes govern what therapists do, not what clients do. A client's own recording falls under the recording law where the session happens. Under American law, that means one person's consent in most states and everyone's consent in about 11.

Is Memory Notch HIPAA compliant?

We make no HIPAA claim and offer no business associate agreement. The app records and transcribes on your device with nothing uploaded, which is a privacy property, not a compliance certificate. Ask your organization what it approves before recording client sessions, and always get the client's consent.

How long should I keep a supervision recording?

As long as your consent form and your agency's policy say, and no longer. One university training clinic destroys recordings once supervision has reviewed them; another deletes them when the work ends or at an agreed time. The counseling and family therapy codes both ask you to dispose of records in a way that protects confidentiality.

## Sources

- [ACA Code of Ethics (2014), American Counseling Association](https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf)
- [A look ahead: new ACA Code of Ethics in 2026, American Counseling Association](https://www.counseling.org/about/a-look-ahead)
- [Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, American Psychological Association](https://www.apa.org/ethics/code)
- [Ethics Code Task Force, American Psychological Association](https://www.apa.org/ethics/task-force)
- [AAMFT Code of Ethics, effective January 1, 2026, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy](https://www.aamft.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Legal%20Ethics/AAMFT%20Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf)
- [Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions 2026, BACP](https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/26718/bacp-ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions-2026.pdf)
- [Good Practice in Action 065: Confidentiality and record keeping, BACP, updated January 2024](https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/20401/bacp-confidentiality-and-record-keeping-crp-gpia065-jan24.pdf)
- [Audio or Video Recording Policy, UTSA Department of Counseling, June 30, 2017](https://education.utsa.edu/_documents/counseling/student-resources/forms/audio_or_video_recording_policy_6.30.17.pdf)
- [Digital Recording Consent Form, University of Utah Counseling Center](https://counselingcenter.utah.edu/_resources/documents/services/digitalrecordingconsentform2.0.pdf)
- [May a HIPAA covered entity use a cloud service to store or process ePHI?, HHS](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/faq/may-a-hipaa-covered-entity-or-business-associate-use-cloud-service-to-store-or-process-ephi/index.html)
- [Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press](https://www.rcfp.org/introduction-to-reporters-recording-guide/)
- [Protect data on your Mac with FileVault, Apple](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/protect-data-on-your-mac-with-filevault-mh11785/mac)
- [Memory Notch privacy policy](https://memorynotch.app/privacy/)

## Related posts

- [Record and transcribe an in-person meeting](https://memorynotch.app/blog/record-in-person-meetings/)
- [How to transcribe qualitative research interviews](https://memorynotch.app/blog/transcribe-interviews-qualitative-research/)
- [Can you record doctor appointments? Usually](https://memorynotch.app/blog/can-you-record-doctor-appointments/)
- [Memory Notch for clinicians](https://memorynotch.app/secure-ambient-scribe/)
- [Privacy policy](https://memorynotch.app/privacy/)

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