of 6— Create your Otter.ai account

What you'll accomplish

Writing group progress notes from memory takes 20-30 minutes and still misses things. This guide shows you how to use Otter.ai to capture session themes so your notes are accurate, complete, and written in under 10 minutes. You'll also learn the privacy considerations so you can use this responsibly.

What you'll need

Free Otter.ai account at otter.ai (300 minutes/month free)
A smartphone (iOS or Android). Phone microphone is best for in-person groups
IMPORTANT: Agency supervisor approval before recording any group sessions
Time needed: 20 minutes to set up; zero additional time per group
Cost: Free (Otter.ai free tier covers about 20 hours of recording per month)

How-To Guide: Use Otter.ai for Group Session Documentation

Step 1: Create your Otter.ai account

Go to otter.ai and click Sign up Free. Create an account with your work email. Download the Otter.ai mobile app (iOS or Android) and log in.

What you should see: The Otter.ai home screen with a large orange record button.

Tools:Otter.ai