You need at least one patient before you can record a session. Adding one takes a few seconds.
Steps
Click + next to Clients in the sidebar (or press ⌘N). A blank patient page opens with the name field ready.
Type the patient's name
Click Save or press Return
The patient's page opens and they appear in the sidebar list. Cancel or Esc backs out without saving.
Additional fields
A name is all Confidant needs to start. Everything else is set on the patient's page afterwards:
Pronouns — recommended. When set, Confidant uses these pronouns in generated notes ("he reported," "they expressed"). If left blank, the AI uses third-person clinical voice ("client reported"). Click + Add pronouns (recommended) under the patient's name.
Date of birth — click + Add date of birth. Shown on exported notes, not in the note text.
Private notes — free-form text for referral source, logistics, or anything else you want at hand. For you only; not used by AI. That's what the Case overview is for, which builds itself from your sessions over time.
Both links open Client settings (Patient settings if you've switched Confidant to say "patients"), where these live on the Profile tab.
Per-patient settings
The strip under the patient's name lets you customize a few things just for this patient:
Modality — override the default modality just for this patient (e.g. you mostly do CBT but this patient is in DBT)
Note format — override your default format for this patient (Default uses your global setting)
Diagnoses — the patient's problem list
Auto-stop — how long a recording can run for this patient
Below it, the Case overview is an auto-generated summary that updates as you finalize notes, next to treatment goals you write yourself.
See Per-patient customization for details.
Privacy mode
The eye icon next to Clients in the sidebar toggles Privacy Mode — patient names show as initials instead of full names. Useful for screen sharing or working in public. Toggle with ⌘⇧P. The setting persists between launches.