As a mental health professional, you know the importance of documentation in your practice. However, the constant pressure to keep up with paperwork can be a significant source of stress and burnout. In this blog post, we’ll take a deep dive into the statistics surrounding documentation stress in the mental health field and explore some strategies for managing this overwhelming burden.

The Prevalence of Documentation Stress

Studies have consistently shown that documentation is one of the biggest stressors for mental health professionals. A study by Bardhoshi et al. (2014) found that “the assignment of non-counseling duties significantly predicted exhaustion in the participants.” Similarly, a study by Gardner et al. (2018) found that “HIT-related stress is measurable, common (about 70% among respondents), specialty-related, and independently predictive of burnout symptoms.”  

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The Impact on Mental Health

The constant pressure to keep up with documentation can have a significant impact on your mental health. It can lead to feelings of burnout, overwhelm, and decreased job satisfaction. In addition, the stress of documentation can contribute to physical health problems, such as headaches, insomnia, and digestive issues.

The Impact on Client Care

The burden of documentation can also have a negative impact on your ability to provide quality care to your clients. When you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed, it can be difficult to focus on your clients’ needs and provide them with the best possible care.

The Statistics on Documentation Time

The amount of time that mental health professionals spend on documentation varies widely, but it can be a significant burden. A study by O’Connor et al. (2018) found that mental health professionals spend an average of 2.5 hours per week on documentation. However, this number can be much higher for some professionals.

Strategies for Managing Documentation Stress

If you’re struggling with the burden of documentation, there are several strategies you can try to manage your stress:

• Have a Dedicated time: Ideally providers would do their notes between sessions and have zero backnotes, however often-times this is unrealistic due to limited breaks, limited time, and the need to use self-care during downtime. What can be more realistic is setting a time every day or every couple of days to do notes. Usually, this works best when this time is set BEFORE the work-day not after. Going in early and knocking out back notes, emails, and admin work is a great strategy to start the day on the right foot.
• Use technology: There are a number of software programs and apps that can help accelerate your note keeping and can make the whole process very rapid. One such app is NoteNest. NoteNest uses NLP (Natural Language Processing) to write your notes for you via keyword selections. As you make selections, you can watch your notes write themselves. This give you full control of what goes into your notes while you can “write” paragraphs in seconds. Entire personalized documents can usually be completed in under a minute.
• Take Notes in real time for remote sessions: With the use of technology like NoteNest, it is possible to keep notes live during sessions without needing to type or disrupt the session. Just pull up the NoteNest keywords alongside your video and click checkboxes as your client is talking. Further, it allows you to keep more detailed notes with no need to jog your memory. 

Conclusion

The burden of documentation can be a significant challenge for mental health professionals. However, by understanding the statistics and implementing effective strategies, you can manage your stress and focus on providing quality care to your clients.