For therapists, counsellors and coaches in the UK
Your session notes, ready for your review
Record the session, or say what happened afterwards in your own words. Joy turns it into a draft note, and nothing goes into a client record until you've read and approved it.
Your first 20 sessions are free. No credit card needed. Then £25 a month + VAT.
How it works
Record, or reflect afterwards
With your client's explicit consent, record the session in a Joy video call or in person on your phone. Or, once your client has left, talk it through in your own words, or type a few lines.
The draft
Joy turns the recording, or what you said, into a draft note. It stays a draft until you approve it.
Your review
Read it, change what you need to, then approve. Nothing enters a client record without your eyes on it first.
Record the session, or dictate afterwards
Joy can record the whole session and draft the note from it. This is sometimes called ambient note-taking. It works in Joy video calls, and in person using your phone. If you record, get your client's explicit consent first, whichever tool you use.
Prefer not to record? Dictate your own summary once your client has left. Here's what to say.
After the session: what to say
Your own reflection, spoken once your client has left. With this way of working, the session itself isn't recorded.
1. Your reflection
Talk through the same headings as a written note, in your own words:
- The date, which session it was, and how long.
- In person, online or by phone, and anything about attendance.
- What your client brought. If their exact words matter, say that they are their words, then the words.
- What you noticed.
- Your reflections, said as yours: "I wondered whether…"
- Risk: none noted, or what was said, what you did, what you agreed.
- What you agreed for next time.
Leave identifiers out: no full names, addresses or details the note doesn't need.
See the headings as a written note
"Session four, fifty minutes, in person, on time. She brought work again, the new manager. In her words: 'I feel invisible in meetings.' I noticed she spoke faster when she talked about the team meeting. I wondered whether being overlooked is a familiar feeling; she said she'd think about it. Risk: none noted. Agreed she'll try speaking first at the next team meeting and tell me how it went."
2. The draft
Joy turns what you said into a draft note. It stays a draft until you approve it.
3. Your review
Read the draft against four questions:
- Is there anything in it you didn't say?
- Does your opinion read as fact anywhere?
- Is there more detail than the note needs?
- Is the risk line as you said it?
The note is yours. Change what is wrong, then approve. Nothing enters a client record without your eyes on it first.
Not recording isn't the same as no data
Not recording the session doesn't mean no client data is processed. What you dictate is still your client's personal data, and Joy processes it for you.
From 3 November 2026, BACP's Ethical Framework requires members to have their client's informed consent before putting any of their personal data into an AI or digital tool. A dictated summary is their personal data, so that includes dictation.
Recording a session is a different thing: if you record, get your client's explicit consent first, whichever tool you use.
How to explain Joy to your client. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
What "free" means here
Your first 20 sessions are free, and you don't need a credit card to start. After that, Joy is £25 a month + VAT.
Built in Sweden, careful by default
50,000+ consultations and counting
Joy is used by therapists, counsellors and coaches across the UK and Europe. Your records sit under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, hosted in the EU, with a data processing agreement you can keep on file. When a client asks where their words go, you have a clear answer. Wondering whether you are allowed to use AI for your notes at all? Our UK guide answers that, with the law and BACP's 2026 conditions alongside. And when you wonder how long to keep what you write, our record retention guide has the numbers, where they come from, and why there is no single one.
"This fabulous program has changed my note-taking life! I never believed that my own thoughts and ramblings could be translated into just the right tone and meaning."
Gina HowardCounsellor, UK
A note from Charlotta
Hi, I'm Charlotta, one of Joy's co-founders. I have built healthcare technology for over a decade, and Joy is the tool I kept wishing existed: notes done before you leave the office, evenings back, and your clients' trust never traded for any of it.
Your first 20 notes are free because trying Joy on real sessions is the only way to know if it fits your practice. If anything feels off, or brilliant, tell me at hello@joy.day. I read every message.
Charlotta
Co-founder, Joy
Questions therapists ask us
Is it really free?
Yes. Your first 20 sessions are free, and you don't need a credit card to start. After that, Joy is £25 a month + VAT.
Do you train AI on my notes or my clients' data?
No. Never, on any plan. There is no data-sharing setting to find in Joy, because there is nothing to switch off.
Can I use Joy without recording sessions?
Yes. Once your client has left, talk the session through in your own words, or type a few lines. No client audio is needed for that. Joy records only if you choose to, in a Joy video call or in person using your phone. What to say after the session
Do I need my clients' consent to use Joy?
For BACP members, yes. From 3 November 2026, the Ethical Framework requires your client's informed consent before any of their personal data goes into an AI or digital tool, and a dictated summary is their personal data, so that covers dictation as well as recording. That is a professional duty, separate from data protection law, under which Joy acts as your processor and you would normally name it in your privacy notice. If your professional body has no AI clause yet, the same openness still applies: tell clients which tools you use. If you record a session, such as a video call in Joy, get your client's explicit consent first, whichever tool you use. Our guide to using AI for counselling notes covers what that means in practice. This is general guidance, not legal advice for your practice.
Where is my data stored?
Session data is hosted in the EU. Joy is built by Joy Solutions AB, a Swedish company, and complies with GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act 2018.
How is this different from other free AI note tools?
Some tools offer ongoing free plans where you type or dictate a summary yourself and the AI formats it. With Joy, your first 20 sessions are free, then it's one monthly price. You talk the session through, Joy drafts the note, and you approve it. If you're weighing options, we keep a side-by-side with Upheal, including where they win.
Your headings, with help building your template
Tell us the headings you use and how much detail you need. We'll help you build a first template, then adjust it with you. You check it against the professional guidance that applies to your practice.
Fictional example: not a real client. Three lines from a longer note.
What the client brought: The anniversary of her father's death, which falls next week. Said she feels "like I'm bracing for something".
My reflections: I wondered whether the bracing is also about her family's expectation that she "holds it together". She said she would think about it.
Agreed next steps: Same time next week.
See the full note, annotated, and a blank template. Your own template follows your headings and your guidance, and every draft is yours to review and approve.
After you sign up, open the question mark in Joy to talk to our team about your template. Send us your headings, not client notes or examples.
Try it with your next session
Your first 20 sessions are free. No credit card needed.
Try JoyThen £25 a month + VAT.