Are My Session Notes Rote?
First, we want to recognize that the social work profession is truly a noble one —founded on service, integrity, and clinical expertise. At times, it can be both stressful and dangerous. The nation is grateful for what you do. AND SO ARE WE! Thank You!
News Flash…
Important Legislative UPDATES That Impact You:
House Bill 1707 – The Social Worker Educational Enrollment and Training Pilot Program Act provides stipends to social work students enrolled in qualified programs who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. This initiative aims to attract more individuals into the profession and address the ongoing shortage of social workers.
House Bill 1648 supports student well-being by allowing mental health days to be recognized as excused absences for K-12 students. It formally defines a “Mental Health Day” and acknowledges the role of mental wellness in academic success.
The Social Work Licensure Compact and the National Counseling Compact are awaiting final votes in the Senate before moving to the House. If passed by both chambers, the goal is to streamline the licensure process across state lines, thereby increasing access to care by allowing more licensed social workers and professional counselors to practice in multiple states.
Pro-Tip
Check your professional liability insurance policy to see if you’re covered across state lines.
Rote notes in therapy session documentation is a repetitive, “mechanical” sign of thoughtlessness —what L.L. King referred to as a ‘commercial hustle.” This can indicate the use of AI or other convenient word-processing applications for speed and efficiency at the expense of dedicated, personalized, descriptive, and sincere therapy session documentation.
This practice reflects a lack of seriousness and can be viewed as a breach of fiduciary responsibility — a claim that a plaintiff’s attorney may allege in a negligence lawsuit. Based on Preferra’s experience in adjudicating licensing board complaints and lawsuits, documentation liability ranks among the most frequent allegations in these cases.
Pro-Tip
In court, judges look unfavorably upon social workers whose documentation is filled with repetitive phrases or identical sentences. That liability is nearly as serious as having no documentation at all.
Depending on how AI is implemented, the key question becomes whether an act or omission by the practitioner is professional in nature — or merely a failure of an automated AI application. In other words, is the social worker using AI and technology to perform a professional therapeutic service, or is the technology itself performing the service, as it would in an AI startup? A social work agency should use AI to support its traditional therapy practices — not replace them. (Rough Notes, “Specialty Lines Markets – Professional Liability,” October 2025.)
Professional liability insurance carriers recognize the rapid and widespread adoption of AI in the behavioral health field, which threatens to upend traditional insurance coverage. Underwriters are responding defensively, analyzing in detail how insured professionals use AI.
If AI becomes embedded in clinical treatment rather than limited to administrative tasks, it faces increased exposure to discrimination claims, general malpractice, and illegal bias. As AI tools become more integrated into daily practice, legal risks grow as well. Consequently, insurance carriers are starting to impose policy exclusions and sub-limits for losses arising from AI-generated content or use in therapy.
We are already seeing legal defense cases weakened in court, as judges reject the legitimacy of therapy session notes containing repeated, AI-generated phrases.
Pro-Tip
Clear your desk, open your mind, and conduct a quick audit of your agency’s use of AI across all tasks and functions — especially in therapy session documentation.
Ask yourself:
- Do you rely on AI for more than administration tasks?
- Where am I exposed to liability risks?
- Are these risks shifted to my insurance carrier — or left uncovered?
This is where your exposure lies, and it may not be covered by your professional liability insurance policy. That’s why you need a risk reconciliation audit of your professional liability coverage.
