Mentalyc Blog

  • Goal Attainment in Therapy

    Goal Attainment in Therapy: From Intention to Measurable Change

    As therapists, we talk about goals constantly: at intake, during treatment planning, in progress notes, and in discharge summaries. Yet goal attainment in therapy often remains one of the most misunderstood and inconsistently documented aspects of clinical work. We may feel that a client is improving, but struggle to articulate how, toward what, and to […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • How to Write SMART Goals in Therapy

    How to Write SMART Goals in Therapy (With Clinical Examples)

    Writing SMART goals in therapy is one of the most important and most misunderstood skills in clinical practice. Therapists are often trained to think in broad therapeutic aims (“reduce anxiety,” “improve relationships,” “increase insight”), yet documentation, treatment planning, and insurance review require something much more precise. SMART goals bridge that gap. They translate clinical insight […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Therapy Progress Tracking

    Therapy Progress Tracking: Track Progress across Therapy Sessions

    Therapy progress tracking is about noticing how a client is changing over time, not just how a single session went. It helps you see whether symptoms, functioning, or engagement are slowly improving, staying stuck, or shifting in unexpected ways across sessions. Some therapists use questionnaires or rating scales for this (often called progress monitoring or […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Therapy Outcome Tracking

    Therapy Outcome Tracking: How to Evaluate Treatment Effectiveness Over Time?

    Therapy outcome tracking is the process of evaluating whether therapy led to meaningful, lasting change over time. Rather than focusing on what happened in individual sessions, it looks at the overall results of treatment such as symptom reduction, improved functioning, or sustained stability, across the full course of care. Therapy outcome tracking is often discussed […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Therapeutic Alliance Tracking

    Therapeutic Alliance Tracking: Measuring Alliance Shifts Across Sessions

    The therapeutic alliance is one of the strongest predictors of engagement and effectiveness in therapy. Research consistently shows that how therapists and clients work together plays a major role in treatment outcomes. Traditionally, the alliance has been measured using tools like the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and other alliance questionnaires. While these measures are useful […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Best AI Scribe for Therapists in 2026

    Top 10 Best AI Scribe for Therapists in 2026 (Ranked List)

    In 2026, choosing the best AI scribe for therapists is no longer about “saving time.” For therapists, psychiatrists, and medical clinicians, the real question: Can the AI medical scribe tool support clinical reasoning, preserve documentation integrity, and reduce compliance risk – without adding friction to care? This ranked list of the top 10 best AI […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Eleos vs Mentalyc (2026)

    Eleos vs Mentalyc (2026): Which AI Therapy Note Tool Is Better for Group Practice?

    Therapists are entering 2026 facing a familiar challenge: clinical documentation is taking too long. Many clinicians still spend hours each week completing progress notes, rewriting session summaries, and ensuring their documentation meets medical-necessity standards, payer requirements, and ethical expectations. The burden is exhausting, and it directly contributes to burnout, reduced work–life balance, and increased administrative stress. This is why AI […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Cognitive Restructuring Techniques for Therapists: How to Apply, Document, and Track Client Progress

    Clients rarely present to therapy saying, “I have a cognitive distortion.” Instead, they arrive describing chronic anxiety, low mood, shame, relational conflict, or a sense of being stuck; often driven by longstanding patterns of distorted thinking that operate outside of conscious awareness. For therapists, one of the most clinically powerful ways to intervene at this […]
    Adesuwa Olajire, LCP Avatar
    Adesuwa Olajire, LCP
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs. Dialectical Behavior Therapy

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) are two of the most widely used evidence-based modalities in mental health practice. While both are structured and skills-oriented, they serve different clinical purposes and require distinct documentation approaches. For therapists, the real challenge is not defining CBT or DBT—but deciding when to use each modality, […]
    Adesuwa Olajire, LCP Avatar
    Adesuwa Olajire, LCP
  • Persistent Depressive Disorder Treatment Plan

    Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD) Treatment Plan Writing Guide for Therapists

    Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD), formerly known as dysthymia, is a chronic depressive condition characterized by long-standing low mood, reduced motivation, and impaired functioning. Diagnostic criteria require symptoms to be present for at least two years in adults and one year in children or adolescents, making PDD distinct from episodic depressive presentations. Unlike Major Depressive Disorder […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Heidi Review for Therapists (2026)

    Heidi Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    Therapists exploring Heidi reviews are typically trying to understand: This article breaks down what Heidi Health does well, where clinicians report limitations, and what those trade-offs mean for everyday clinical work. We examine Heidi’s transcription and note-generation workflow, pricing structure, compliance posture, and real therapist experience—using publicly available feedback and documented features. We also compare […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Upheal Review for Therapists (2026)

    Upheal Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    Therapists evaluating Upheal reviews are often trying to decide whether transcription-driven AI documentation can keep up with real therapy sessions—especially when accuracy, modality support (like couples or family therapy), and workflow reliability matter. This article breaks down how Upheal performs in day-to-day clinical use, where clinicians report strengths and limitations, and how Upheal compares with […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • The Best Wiley Treatment Planner Alternative

    The Best Wiley Treatment Planner Alternative – AI Treatment Planner by Mentalyc

    For decades, the Wiley Treatment Planner defined how therapists structure goals, objectives, and interventions. But today’s clinical reality looks very different. Therapists now need automated treatment planning, tighter insurance alignment, and tools that work seamlessly across EHRs—without endless copy-paste or rigid templates. If you’re actively searching for a Wiley treatment planner alternative, this guide breaks […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Best Clinician Training Software for Therapists in 2026 (Ranked Based on Real Reviews)

    Most therapists want to grow their clinical skills; not just earn CE credits, but actually become more attuned, confident, and effective in session. The problem is finding the time and support to do that while managing full caseloads, heavy documentation, and the emotional demands of the work. Traditional therapist education often falls short. In-person trainings […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Eleos Health Review

    Eleos Health Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    Therapists reading an Eleos Health review are usually trying to answer one practical question: does transcription-based AI documentation actually save time, or does it create new friction around reliability, editing, and daily workflow? This Eleos review looks at how Eleos performs in real clinical settings—where it helps, where clinicians report challenges, and how it compares […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Best Art Therapy Note Taker (2026): Complete Guide for Clinicians

    Therapists searching for an art therapy note taker in 2026 are looking for one thing: a way to document symbolic expression, creative process documentation, and intervention outcomes clearly without flattening the clinical meaning of art-based work or risking insurance denials. Art therapy documentation is uniquely complex. Many sessions include quiet stretches, movement, play, imagery, symbolic […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Best Wellness Coaching Note Takers in 2026 Reviewed

    Wellness coaches looking for note-taking tools want one thing: a reliable way to capture session insights, goals, and progress without spending hours documenting after each call. Coaching sessions often cover habits, mindset shifts, accountability, and long-term goals all at once. When notes are scattered or incomplete, it becomes harder to track progress and maintain continuity […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • a graph to show how therapists can compare and choose the safest AI notetakers that HIPAA compliant

    Top 5 Best HIPAA-Compliant AI Notetakers & Treatment Plan Tools for Therapists (2026)

    Documentation audits are increasing, insurers are rejecting vague or inconsistent notes, and concerns about AI-generated therapy notes, from fabricated details to unclear data storage, are making clinicians more cautious. Many tools claim to be HIPAA compliant, but stop at basic security. They encrypt data yet fall short on clinical accuracy, audit-ready documentation, and treatment-plan alignment—the […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • TherapyNotes AI Review for Therapists

    TherapyNotes AI Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    Therapists exploring a TherapyNotes AI review are often trying to understand whether an AI notetaker inside a traditional EHR can reduce documentation time or simply shift work around existing templates. In this guide based on real clinicians’ reviews, we examine how well this platform performs in real clinical workflows, where its limitations appear, and when […]
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc Avatar
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc
  • SimplePractice AI Review

    SimplePractice AI Note Taking Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    This review examines how SimplePractice’s AI note-taking tool performs in real-world therapy workflows, drawing on feedback from therapists who use it in practice. We assess note quality, recording and transcription behavior, pricing, compliance, and day-to-day usability, and place it in context alongside more specialized documentation tools such as Mentalyc. We will help you to answer: […]
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc Avatar
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc
  • blueprint reviews

    Blueprint Review for Therapists (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons

    Therapists researching a Blueprint review are usually trying to answer one simple question: Blueprint the right tool for me? For clinicians who rely on routine assessments to monitor symptoms and meet reporting requirements, it’s a familiar option; but one that also raises important questions about insight between sessions, workflow fit, and long-term clinical value. In this review, […]
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc Avatar
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc
  • Is Mentalyc Worth It? Honest Review of Pricing, Note Accuracy & HIPAA Compliance

    Is Mentalyc Worth It? Honest Review of Pricing, Note Accuracy & HIPAA Compliance

    If you’re searching for “Is Mentalyc worth it?” or “Is Mentalyc legit?”, you’re likely already familiar with AI note-taking tools for therapists — and you’re probably cautious. AI note-taking software has exploded in the past few years, but much of it has been built around speed – not around therapy itself. Mentalyc stands out because […]
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc Avatar
    Maria Szandrach, CEO of Mentalyc
  • top 7 ai therapy note tools

    Best AI Notetaker for Therapists in 2026 (Ranked based on Real Reviews)

    Therapists searching for the best AI notetaker want one thing: a tool that genuinely reduces documentation time while staying clinically accurate and privacy-safe. But not all AI therapy tools deliver the same results. Some miss clinical nuance, some store recordings long term, and others require heavy editing. Choosing the right tool means understanding accuracy, privacy […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP
  • Best Therapy Progress Tracking Tools 2026

    Best Progress Tracking Tools for Therapists in 2026 (Ranked Based on Real Reviews)

    Therapists choosing a progress-tracking tool in 2026 want one thing: a clear view of whether clients are actually improving without creating more paperwork. But tools vary widely. Some only track symptoms through questionnaires, while others miss what matters most in real clinical work: changes in symptoms, progress toward goals, and the quality of the therapeutic alliance. […]
    Tracy Collins, LCP Avatar
    Tracy Collins, LCP