Session notes for therapists and counsellors, kept on your Mac

Last updated: August 31, 2026

Client material in therapy and counselling is about as sensitive as information gets, and most AI note tools work by uploading it. Brieva transcribes and summarizes on your Mac and never sends anything anywhere.

How Brieva keeps it in the room

Nothing leaves your Mac. Transcription and the summary run on your own chip. There is no account, no server and no copy anywhere else; the notes live in a database under your macOS user, and the app works offline.
No bot joins the call. Brieva listens to the audio your Mac plays, so nothing appears in the participant list on Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, and it works the same in person with the Mac on the table.
No audio is kept. The live transcript is the only record; no recording file is written. Delete a meeting and it is gone.
Prepared before, summarized after. Drop the emails and documents that matter onto the meeting for a one-page brief; afterwards you get a summary with decisions, action items and follow-ups, and formal minutes if you want them.

Telehealth sessions

Run the session in Zoom, Teams or your telehealth platform; Brieva listens to your Mac's audio, so no bot joins and the platform is not involved. Afterwards you have a transcript and a summary on your own machine.

In-person sessions

With your Mac on the desk, the same applies: a local transcript, grouped by voice, and a summary you can edit into your own note format.

Your own notes, your own retention

No audio file is written. Delete a session and it is gone; keep it and it stays only under your macOS user account, subject to whatever protection you put on the Mac itself.

Your obligations stay yours

Brieva is not a clinical records system and makes no claims about health-privacy regulation in any country. Whether you may transcribe a session, what informed consent requires, and how records must be stored and retained are governed by your professional body and local law. Brieva keeps everything on your Mac; those decisions remain yours.

The details

Apple silicon Mac, macOS 14.4 or newer. US$25 once, 14-day free trial, no card needed. Verified for English, French and German meetings. How the local approach works is on the How Local AI works page; how it compares with Otter, Fireflies and others is on the comparison; the rest is in the FAQ. Download Brieva to try it on your next meeting.