> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# What the whiteboard is in a session
> A shared editable canvas inside the session — used the way you'd use a paper pad in the room.
The whiteboard is a canvas you and your client can both see, drawn live during
a session. You sketch a CBT triangle, write out a thought record, drop a
polyvagal ladder, or just freehand a diagram while you talk. Your client
watches it appear in real time inside the same window as the call.
It's the in-session equivalent of the paper pad you'd reach for in-room — but
better, because the result is exportable as a vector PDF you can drop straight
into the chart.
## When to use it instead of just talking it through
A whiteboard earns its place the moment a concept needs a picture to land.
Talking through the window of tolerance is one thing; watching it widen on
the canvas as you discuss what makes the client's sympathetic system fire is
another. The drawing becomes the artifact of the session — something the
client remembers in week's-worth of detail because they saw it built.
Specific moments worth reaching for it:
* **Psychoeducation**, where the diagram IS the teaching — polyvagal ladder,
window of tolerance, upstairs/downstairs brain, attachment styles.
* **Cognitive work**, where the client needs to see the loop — CBT triangle,
hot cross bun, downward arrow, evidence for/against.
* **Formulation**, where you're mapping the client's life onto a structure
together — 5 Ps, cross-section formulation, trigger map.
* **Worksheets you'd normally do on paper** — thought record, ABC model,
stages of change.
When the conversation doesn't need a visual, skip the whiteboard. A blank
canvas hanging mid-session reads as "where are we going with this" — it's a
tool you reach for with intent.
## How it actually works
When you tap Share Screen → Whiteboard, an editable canvas opens in your
session view. You draw on it; the canvas is sent to your client as the
shared-screen video, exactly like sharing your desktop. They see your
strokes appear in real time without installing anything or clicking through
a permission prompt.
The drawing is end-to-end encrypted, the same as the rest of the video
session. It doesn't cross Rivet's servers.
By default the client watches. When you flip Two-way ON they can draw on
the canvas too — see [letting your client draw](/whiteboard/client-collaboration).
## What ends, when
The canvas itself closes when the session ends — each session starts
fresh, nothing carried forward from the last one. But a board with
anything drawn on it doesn't have to disappear with the canvas: tap
**Save to chart** any time during the session, or just finish the call —
a non-empty board saves to the chart on its own. Export to PDF or PNG is
still there too, for a copy on your own machine. See
[exporting as PDF](/whiteboard/exporting-as-pdf).
The whiteboard is interactive on web and desktop. On iPhone or Android,
clients viewing through their browser see the whiteboard as a video stream
— they can watch you draw, but the two-way drawing tools are designed for
a real keyboard + pointer. Most clients are on a laptop or desktop for
sessions; mobile-only clients still get the visual.
## What it isn't
* **It isn't a session recording.** The canvas is live; the only artifact is
what you export.
* **It isn't a screen capture of your computer.** When you pick Whiteboard
from the Share Screen menu, your desktop stays private — only the canvas
is shared.
* **It isn't a resumable canvas.** Each session starts with a blank board
— what you drew last time doesn't reload automatically. It's still on
the chart if you saved it, just not sitting there ready to keep drawing
on.
## Related articles
The Share Screen picker, what the client sees.
Pen, eraser, text, shapes, Apple Pencil.
29 worksheets across 9 clinical categories.