This Ottawa Psychologist Saves 10+ Hours a Week on Notes - Here’s How

At a glance

"I took a sigh of relief when I finished the day and all my notes were done and looking good." – Dr. Sarah Bellefontaine, Psychologist and Clinic Director at Four Wings Psychology

Key outcomes:

• Increased client engagement and session quality
• Significantly reduced documentation time, reclaiming evenings for personal and family activities
• Improved mental clarity, reducing cognitive load and stress
• Enhanced ability to manage and balance clinical responsibilities effectively
• Consistent, high-quality session notes that improve therapeutic outcomes

Read on if you might also be experiencing:

• Difficulty balancing thorough documentation with meaningful client interactions
• Administrative burdens and prolonged note-taking sessions encroaching on personal life
• Cognitive overload, leading to stress and reduced therapeutic effectiveness
• A desire to improve client sessions without sacrificing documentation quality

Impactful quotes by Dr. Sarah Bellefontaine

1. "I took a sigh of relief when I finished the day and all my notes were done and looking good."
2. "I feel like I'm more with my client. I'm not having to think about what I'm documenting and missing interventions."
3. "It's allowed me to get out of the office quicker and be more present at home."
4. "Any moments I can get back to devote to other tasks are incredibly appreciated."
5. "I feel fresher in sessions, which is bizarre to say, but true."
6. "Heidi has a way of capturing what went on in the session even if it feels like nothing big happened."
7. "It's really good at reading between the lines but not overstating."
8. "Somehow Heidi knows which pieces are important and which aren't important."
9. "I love that Heidi can be customized in so many ways, depending on what detail I want."
10. "She's my work BFF; she learns really well and doesn’t generally make the same mistake twice."

Background

Four Wings Psychology, founded and led by Dr. Sarah Bellefontaine, serves clients of all ages in Ottawa through psychological assessments, therapy sessions, and clinician supervision. Their mission centers around compassionate, client-focused care to improve mental health and overall well-being.

Challenges

Dr. Bellefontaine sees about 20 clients weekly, personally juggling therapy, assessments, and clinical supervision. Efficient documentation is critical for both patient care and regulatory compliance.

Balancing session documentation with client engagement

• "If I didn't write notes in session or upload raw notes, pretty much nothing would get uploaded."
• Dr. Bellefontaine often found herself less present in sessions, burdened by the need to document thoroughly without sacrificing client interaction.

Time-consuming note-taking extending into personal time

• "I wasn't as present in sessions as I would have loved to be, and my mind space was taken up by documentation worries."
• Notes regularly spilled over into personal hours, limiting time available for family and rest.

Cognitive overload and mental fatigue

• "A lot of my mind space was taken up remembering details like medication names and session specifics."
• The mental burden of tracking clinical details detracted significantly from therapeutic focus and increased stress.

These challenges persisted despite attempts at efficiency, creating a constant strain until discovering Heidi Health.

Solution

Dr. Bellefontaine first heard about Heidi through her children's physician and became fully convinced after a colleague recommended its benefits. Quickly adopting Heidi, she integrated the platform into therapy, assessments, and clinical supervision.

"I took a sigh of relief when I finished the day and all my notes were done and looking good."

Favorite features:

• Customizable templates: Tailored for various session types, including supervision and therapy notes.
• Selective detail capturing: Heidi intuitively identifies clinically relevant information, streamlining notes.
• Continuous learning: Heidi adjusts and improves accuracy based on clinician feedback.

Importantly, Heidi’s compliance with Canadian privacy regulations and her ability to control what information is fed into the AI built immediate trust.

Implementation

Dr. Bellefontaine’s setup is structured and secure. She identifies clients by number to protect privacy and has created distinct templates that meet CPBAO supervision guidelines. She uses:

• A supervision note template aligned with college recommendations, automatically capturing client updates, ethical concerns, directives, and areas for growth
• A session note template that includes mental status exams, clinically relevant quotes, and custom prompts for next steps and assigned homework
• A meeting summary template to record internal team consultations and clinical discussions

"My supervision workflow is my favorite use case," she shared, noting that Heidi captures directives and even recognizes when she is acting in a supervisory role - without being explicitly told.

Impact

"I feel like I'm more with my client, not having to think about what I'm documenting and missing interventions."

Key outcomes:

• Increased client engagement and session quality
• Reduced time spent on documentation, freeing evenings for personal life
• Improved mental clarity and reduced cognitive load

More present client interactions

• Dr. Bellefontaine noted being significantly more present in sessions, directly benefiting client care.

Reclaimed personal and family time

• "It's allowed me to get out of the office quicker and be more present at home."

Reduced cognitive load and fatigue

• "I feel fresher in sessions, and now I actually have a little break between sessions."

Unexpected benefit:

"She’s my work BFF; Heidi learns really well and doesn’t generally make the same mistake twice."

What’s next

With Heidi, Dr. Bellefontaine is reclaiming her clinical presence, growing her practice, and improving outcomes across therapy and supervision.

She continues to explore ways to expand Heidi’s use, especially in interdisciplinary meetings, and plans to test her team consultation template at the next internal clinical review.

"If Heidi didn’t exist, I’d miss that reduced load immensely—it’s transformed how present and effective I am in every session."

Ready to experience similar benefits in your practice? Discover how Heidi Health can streamline your workflow and enhance your client interactions at www.heidihealth.com.