Fact · Dictation for work and study
Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, psychotherapy notes are notes a mental health professional makes about a counseling conversation, and they must be separated from the rest of the individual's medical record.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“Psychotherapy notes means notes recorded (in any medium) by a health care provider who is a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of conversation during a private counseling session or a group, joint, or family counseling session and that are separated from the rest of the individual's medical record.”
45 CFR 164.501 Definitions (HIPAA Privacy Rule), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 2024, Definitions, Psychotherapy notes.
Open the original- What it measures
- The definition is narrow. It excludes medication prescribing and monitoring, session start and stop times, the treatment modalities and frequency, test results, and summaries of diagnosis, symptoms, prognosis and progress.
- What it does not show
- Legal definition for HIPAA, not clinical advice. State law and professional board rules can add requirements for therapy records.