While most therapists are transparent about this common practice, some clients aren’t aware that mental health therapists often record psychotherapy sessions. In general, they do this in order to be able to refer to sessions later to write up session case notes. At the same time, it’s generally uncommon for clients to record their own sessions. Many people don’t realize there can be a therapeutic benefit to recording therapy sessions.
Whether you are considering recording your psychotherapy sessions with an okay from the right therapist or plan to do it without your psychologist’s consent, the reality is that keeping audio records of your own treatment sessions could help with your overall healing. For some things to consider before deciding whether or not to keep voice records of treatment, read on.
Ensuring Ethical Treatment Practices
Like with most things, there are pros and cons to making the decision to record your private sessions with a mental health professional. At the same time, while people do it for different reasons, the right clinician might be able to work with you to come to a transparent agreement about how to record sessions for therapeutic playback later.
Perhaps you live in New York City, have had difficulty with therapists in the past, and hope to record your therapy sessions with secret audio. Instead of making that leap, why not consider taking the time to find a new therapist and having an open conversation about your concerns. You might just find an NYC therapist happy to help with your fears who would incorporate audio recordings into your treatment plan.
The reality is that recording therapy sessions can be helpful to ensure you’re receiving quality and ethical treatment from your psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor. At the same time, making a secret recording of a DBT session will amount to a one-party consent that won’t hold up in a two-party consent state if your goal is to show wrongdoing. A better compromise might be to have the conversation ahead of time and to make your boundaries and need for recordings known before starting counseling with a new therapist.
The Ability to Revisit
If you’ve found a safe space and done your research on secret audio recorders that could be used for capturing the therapeutic process, you’ll want to talk to a licensed therapist about ways playback could add to your healing and overall treatment process.
A therapist can give you tools on how to use your audio files to hear your story from another perspective, handle potential triggers, and more. In fact, they may be able to show you ways revisiting past sessions can show you how far you’ve come; leading to an increase in self-esteem and better mental wellness.
Getting Feedback from a Partner
For some people, bringing video or audio recorders to therapy sessions is a great way to share the therapy process with a friend or family member. It can give you ideas of what to talk about in the next session, too. Perhaps your support system can’t attend your sessions. By making recordings of your mental health services, you’ll be able to talk about treatments more effectively. This could lead to faster healing.
In the end, while it’s important to have two-party consent if you’re recording sessions for healing reasons, no one can really stop you from making covert recordings of your own psychodynamic therapy sessions. If you do choose to make audio recordings for healing purposes, the best way to go about it is to have an honest conversation with your therapist. They might be able to help you understand the best ways to make your voice records work for you. At the same time, they can warn you about possible triggers, panic attacks, or the legal implications of sharing sessions with a close friend.
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