Before you start
You and the client are in an active video session. The template you want is either already on your favourites list or you’ll find it in the picker — see Finding the right template.The flow
Open the picker from the in-session toolbar
Tap the templates icon. The picker slides up with categories, search,
and your recent templates at the top.
Pick a template
Tap the template — for example, PHQ-9. A small toast appears on
both screens: “PHQ-9 opened.”
The client sees the form, you see the read-only preview
On the client’s device, the questions render full-width with large tap
targets. On your screen, you see the same form in a read-only preview
on the right side of the workspace. As the client taps an answer, it
populates on your side within a fraction of a second.
Watch the score update live
Below the preview, the scoring pill updates in real time. For PHQ-9
you’ll see the running total, the severity band as soon as it crosses
a threshold (Minimal → Mild → Moderate at the right cuts), and a risk
flag if Item 9 is answered above zero.
Add your annotations
Each item on your side has a small “Notes” field that only you see.
Use it for clinical observations — “client paused on Item 6,” “answered
quickly without reading.” These annotations export with the response
but are never sent to the client’s device.
When the client finishes
They tap Submit on their device. You get a confirmation on yours.
The score and band freeze on the value at submit.
What the client experiences
The client sees:- The template title and stem prompt at the top
- One question per screen on a phone, or all questions visible on a tablet or laptop
- Large, accessible tap targets for choice questions
- A progress indicator at the bottom
- The numerical scores on each option
- The running total
- The severity band
- Your private annotations
- The category label
When the connection drops
The in-flight template state is held in a short-lived server cache. If the client’s connection drops mid-fill or your browser refreshes, the form resumes on the same item with the answers already entered. Anything they typed before the drop is preserved. The cache expires automatically within 24 hours and holds the response under a random session ID — no name, no email, no link to the rest of their record.When you both finish — and what’s saved
When you close the template (either by tapping Close, ending the session, or letting the cache expire), Rivet does not keep the answers. What persists is the audit row: which template was opened, when, and whether you copied or downloaded the response. The answers themselves exist only in your clipboard or PDF after that point. This is deliberate — see What’s in the template library for the storage stance and why we built it this way.Practitioner-private notes
SOAP, DAP, and the treatment-plan template are the exception to “the client fills, you watch.” Those render only on your screen. You fill them while the client is talking; the form never crosses the data channel between your two browsers. You open them the same way (from the picker) but the toast on the client’s side never appears, and nothing is shared with their browser. They’re your notes, full stop.Related articles
Finding the right template
The picker, categories, and the choice between sending async vs
filling in the session.
What's in the library
Measures, worksheets, private notes, and the storage stance behind
them.
PHQ-9
The most-administered template — start here for the measure mechanics.