A Solo Counselor Who Has No One to Audit His Notes: How Tom Schlosser Uses AI for Clinical Documentation

Therapists in private practice are paid for the hour they spend with a client. The documentation that follows every session is not billable, but it is required, and it has to be clear, complete and ready for an audit. In a group practice or agency, someone else may review those notes. In a solo practice, no one does.

This article is for counselors, therapists and other clinicians who are thinking about practicing on their own. We look at how one solo counselor hands the drafting of his notes to AI, and then, in a separate section, at what his clinical experience still has to do.

Who he is

Tom Schlosser, MA, NCC, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor with a solo private practice in Waynesburg, a small town south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He focuses on trauma and works with adult clients, from young adults to seniors. Before going into private practice, he worked in agency settings, where internal audits of clinical notes were routine. According to his website, he also works as a therapist for Restoring the Soul, a nonprofit based in Colorado.

The problem: notes that pile up

According to CheckpointEHR, the electronic health record company he uses, his biggest challenges before using AI were:

• Time. He would spend one to two hours at a time catching up on notes.
• Writing. He says he has never been strong in grammar.
• Confidence. Without colleagues to cross-check his documentation, he double- and triple-checked every note to make sure it was clear, compliant and professional.

In his words: "Time is money. If I'm wasting a lot of time on notes, then I'm not able to see a client."

How he uses AI

He joined the early beta group for CheckpointEHR's AI-Assisted Progress Notes around August 2025.

• Drafting inside the record. He writes his note in the system and uses the AI feature to turn it into a polished progress note. He describes the process as entering the note and pushing a couple of buttons.
• Clearer writing. He says the AI makes his notes read more fluently than his own pointed, fact-by-fact style, and that he has had no issues with it misreading what he entered.
• A safety net for audits. Because no one in a solo practice reviews his notes, he says the AI takes the pressure off making sure he has included everything.

What it changed

According to CheckpointEHR, he saves about an hour a week, which he can use to see another client. He says the feature did not disrupt his workflow; according to CheckpointEHR, it fits into existing note templates. He also says he now feels more confident that his notes are ready if an audit ever happens.

What clinical experience gave him that AI could not

This section is our analysis, not a claim made by Schlosser.

• Knowing what a good note needs. Years in agencies, where notes were audited, taught him what complete and compliant documentation looks like. The AI polishes his note; it does not decide what belongs in it.
• Writing the substance first. The clinical content, what happened in the session and what it means, still comes from him. The AI works from what he enters.
• Knowing his own weak spot. He chose AI for the part of the job he found hardest, the writing, not for clinical judgment.
• Doing the math of a solo practice. For a clinician who is paid by the session, an hour saved on notes is an hour that can go to a client.

What you can copy

These are our suggestions, drawn from his story. They are not clinical, legal or compliance advice.

1. Use AI built into your clinical record. Client information is highly sensitive. A feature inside the system you already use for records keeps notes in one place; check how any tool handles client data before using it.
2. Write the substance, let AI polish. Enter your own clinical observations and let AI improve structure, grammar and phrasing.
3. Review every note. You remain responsible for what is in the record. Read the AI's version before you sign it.
4. Use AI as the reviewer you don't have. In a solo practice, a tool that checks for completeness can stand in for the colleague who would otherwise catch gaps.
5. Count the hours. Measure how much time notes take before and after, and decide what you will do with the time you get back.

Notes on the sources

Most facts in this article come from a customer story published by CheckpointEHR, the electronic health record company whose AI feature he uses, so it is written to promote the product. The time saved is his own estimate as reported there. His own website confirms his credentials and location and describes his practice in the first person, with no other therapists or staff listed. The customer story was last updated in October 2025.

Sources

• How AI-Assisted Progress Notes Transformed Documentation for Tom Schlosser Counseling, CheckpointEHR (customer story, updated October 2025)
• About, Tom Schlosser's website