Short answer: If you need short retention, Nabla (no audio retained, 14-day standard data retention) and Freed (audio deleted after processing, 30-day note auto-delete) have the clearest public defaults. Heidi builds any note structure from custom templates. Ask each vendor which therapy note formats and EHRs it supports, and keep psychotherapy notes out of any scribe unless the vendor confirms handling in writing.
What matters for therapists
- Progress note formats your practice uses.
- Fit with your EHR (copy and paste if not integrated).
- Psychotherapy notes kept separate from the progress note.
- Telehealth capture for virtual sessions.
Behavioral health criteria
Evidence labels: Documentation reviewed Vendor-reported Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified. "Ask vendor" means we found no public vendor statement.
| Criterion | Freed | Heidi | Nabla |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intake and initial evaluation notes | Psychiatry and mental and behavioral health templates listed Vendor-reported | Session notes, progress notes and psychiatric evaluations from user templates Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Ask vendor |
| Medication management follow-ups | Psychiatry template listed Vendor-reported | Ask vendor | Ask vendor |
| Mental status exam (MSE) | Ask vendor | Example "Mental State Examination" section in a psychiatrist template Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Ask vendor |
| Suicide-risk documentation | Ask vendor | No clinical decision-making; sensitive content such as suicide risk is documented only if said in session or added as context Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Ask vendor |
| Note formats | Structured SOAP notes per Help Center FAQ Vendor-reported | Any structure via custom templates Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Ask vendor |
| Named EHR and practice-management integrations | EHR push to browser-based EHRs on Premier Vendor-reported | Epic, Oracle Health (Cerner), eClinicalWorks, athenahealth, PracticeQ, IntakeQ Vendor-reported API or SDK widget; Chrome extension for web-based EHRs Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Epic, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks Vendor-reported |
| Telehealth sessions | Yes. Captures browser-tab telehealth (Zoom web, Google Meet, Teams web, Doxy.me) via Chrome extension; Zoom Marketplace app Documentation reviewed | Yes. Heidi Desktop "captures telehealth audio straight from the call" Vendor-reported | Ask vendor |
| Individual vs group pricing | Individual: $39, $79, $119/mo (Premier $104/mo annual). Groups: custom quote Documentation reviewed | Individual: Free; Clinician $150/mo or $110/mo yearly. Practice: $180/seat/mo yearly; Enterprise custom Documentation reviewed APA response (July 2025): paid tiers $66 to $100/month; use the current pricing page Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified | Ask vendor |
Sources, checked 2026-10-13: Freed telehealth capture, Freed FAQ, Freed pricing, Heidi integrations, Heidi pricing, Nabla EHR. Heidi eClinicalWorks and IntakeQ listings and Nabla eClinicalWorks per vendor integration pages.
Suki (APA vendor response)
- Behavioral health notes: Customizable templates, including therapy sessions and psychiatric evaluations Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
- EHR integration: Bidirectional FHIR integration or API embedding Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
- Emotional and nonverbal cues: Does not detect emotional or nonverbal cues (APA response) Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
- Pricing: Per-user and consumption-based models; solo to enterprise Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
About the APA label: the APA Committee on Mental Health IT sent questions to AI scribe developers in July 2025 and published the answers on its AI Scribe Tools page. APA states the answers were not independently verified and that it does not endorse any tool. Neither does this site rely on them as verified facts. See our questions to ask before you buy.
Privacy by vendor
Freed
- BAA: Yes. BAA is part of the Platform Terms on every plan Documentation reviewed
- Audio and transcript retention: Audio deleted after processing (recoverable up to 48 hours; troubleshooting copies up to 14 days). Notes deletable anytime or auto-deleted after 30 days Documentation reviewed
- Model training: "Protected health information is never used for AI training purposes" (Help Center) Vendor-reported
Checked 2026-10-13: BAA article, Privacy and audio retention
Heidi
- BAA: Yes. "We make a BAA available to every covered entity we work with" Documentation reviewed
BAAs in place with all subprocessors Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified - Audio and transcript retention: Audio deleted once the transcript is created unless a recording-saving feature is on; organization auto-delete 1 to 90 days Documentation reviewed
No audio stored by default; transcripts deletable or auto-expire per clinic settings Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified - Model training: "Heidi does not learn from user inputs or patient data" Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
Privacy policy (2026-09-29): no customer data or health information used to train AI models on organization and paid individual plans; de-identified free-plan data may be used under the Terms of Service Documentation reviewed
Checked 2026-10-13: HIPAA and BAA, Privacy policy
Nabla
- BAA: HIPAA documentation on request in Trust Center Documentation reviewed; BAA by plan: Ask vendor
- Audio and transcript retention: No audio retained; patient data kept per retention settings, standard 14 days (help article edited 2026-08-24) Documentation reviewed
- Model training: Vendor states it does not train its models on your data Vendor-reported
Checked 2026-10-13: Data retention article, Trust Center, EHR page ("No model training on your data")
Tali AI
- Audio and transcript retention: Audio streamed in real time, no PHI stored beyond the conversation; custom retention on Enterprise Documentation reviewed
Checked 2026-10-12; sources on the psychiatry guide
Abridge
- BAA: Yes. Published BAA terms, signed with the enterprise contract Documentation reviewed
- Audio and transcript retention: Organization-configured retention; single-encounter early deletion not supported Documentation reviewed
Checked 2026-10-12; sources on the psychiatry guide
Dragon Copilot
- BAA: HIPAA commitments in Microsoft DPA and Product Terms; confirm in your agreement Documentation reviewed
- Audio and transcript retention: Audio and transcripts retained up to 90 days Documentation reviewed
- Model training: De-identified data used for model improvement; not used to train general LLMs Vendor-reported
Checked 2026-10-12; sources on the psychiatry guide
Suki
- BAA: Listed as BAA documented on our scorecard (checked 2026-10-12). SOC 2 Type 2 (Suki homepage, "SOC2 Type 2 certified", as checked 2026-10-13) Vendor-reported; HIPAA compliant and SOC 2 Type II Vendor response to APA, July 2025, not independently verified
- Audio and transcript retention: Developer Platform ambient sessions: audio and transcript permanently deleted after 30 days; final note kept for the contract term (Suki security FAQ, as checked 2026-10-13) Documentation reviewed
- Model training: Only de-identified, anonymized data used for model training (Suki security FAQ, as checked 2026-10-13) Documentation reviewed
Checked 2026-10-12; sources on the psychiatry guide
Psychotherapy notes and HIPAA
What HIPAA calls psychotherapy notes. Under 45 CFR 164.501, psychotherapy notes are notes by a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of a counseling session that are kept separate from the rest of the medical record. They exclude medication prescription and monitoring, session start and stop times, modalities and frequencies of treatment, results of clinical tests, and summaries of diagnosis, functional status, treatment plan, symptoms, prognosis, and progress. Under 45 CFR 164.508(a)(2), with few exceptions a covered entity needs the patient's authorization before disclosing psychotherapy notes, even for treatment by another provider.
Why it matters for AI scribes: a scribe note that goes into the chart is part of the medical record, so it is a progress note, not a psychotherapy note. If you keep separate process notes, decide whether they should ever pass through a scribe vendor, and ask each vendor in writing how it handles them.
Sources: HHS, Does HIPAA provide extra protections for mental health information? (content last reviewed by HHS 2017-09-12; checked 2026-10-13); 45 CFR 164.501 (eCFR); 45 CFR 164.508 (eCFR). Not legal advice.
Research scores
Scores are documentation-based. Vendors without a publicly documented BAA are shown as "BAA not publicly documented: not ranked, confirm with vendor". See the scorecard.
FAQ
Does any AI scribe integrate with my therapy EHR?
Freed can push notes into browser-based EHRs on its Premier plan. Heidi lists PracticeQ and IntakeQ. For other EHRs, ask vendor.
Which note formats do AI scribes support?
Freed documents SOAP notes. Heidi says any structure can be built with custom templates. For other formats, ask vendor.
Can I use an AI scribe for psychotherapy notes?
HIPAA gives psychotherapy notes extra protection (45 CFR 164.501 and 164.508(a)(2)). Use the scribe for the progress note and ask the vendor in writing before anything else.
Related guides
- AI scribe HIPAA BAA comparison
- Best AI Scribes for Psychiatric NPs
- Best AI Scribes for Group Practices
- Best AI scribe for psychiatry
- Heidi Health vs Nabla
- Nabla vs Freed
- Freed vs Heidi Health
- Freed review
- Heidi Health review
- Nabla review
Sources and last checked
Behavioral health criteria and privacy facts for Freed, Heidi and Nabla were checked on vendor pages on 2026-10-13; other vendors on 2026-10-12. Curated by a practicing psychiatrist. See the methodology and corrections.