Justin Edwards, Author at Strive DB

✅ Reviewing and Approving Counseling Session Forms in Strive DB

May 15, 2025

Supervisors and licensed staff play a critical role in reviewing counseling session forms submitted by those working under supervision. Strive DB makes that process fast and traceable—so nothing falls through the cracks.

This post walks through how to find, review, approve, or request changes on submitted forms.

📥 Where Forms Show Up

When a supervised counselor submits a form, it appears in your Inbox under the Form Submissions section.

You’ll see the form title, who submitted it, the appointment it’s linked to, and its current status.

🧠 You’ll only see forms from staff you supervise or are responsible for approving or anyone who is using your license.

🔍 Reviewing the Form

Click into the form to read what was submitted. You can view:

Session notes
Clinical details
Any required fields or custom prompts

If everything looks good, you can finalize. If not, you can request revisions.

✍️ Approving the Form

To approve:

Scroll to the bottom of the form
Click Sign & Approve

This locks the form and changes its status to Finalized. The session is now complete and officially recorded.

🔁 Requesting Changes

If something is missing or unclear, you can send it back:

Click Request Changes
Add a comment describing what needs to be addressed

The counselor will be notified in their inbox. The form will show as Sent Back until they resubmit.

📊 Keeping Track of Status

Once you approve or send back a form, its status updates automatically. You can always track:

Draft – Not submitted yet
Pending – Awaiting your review
Sent Back – Awaiting counselor revision
Finalized – Signed and complete

You can find finalized forms from the appointment view or the Forms tab.

🔗 Related Guides

🧠 Final Thoughts

Strive DB’s session form review system keeps counseling documentation tight and transparent. With built-in approval and revision tools, supervisors can provide oversight without bottlenecks—and counselors can improve their documentation with feedback that’s easy to act on.

💬 Want to adjust your approval routing or set auto-notifications? Reach out to support—we’ll help you dial it in.

📝 Submitting Counseling Session Forms for Approval in Strive DB

If you’re a counselor working under supervision, you’ll need to submit your session forms for review after each appointment. Strive DB makes this smooth and secure—so your notes are clear, timely, and signed off by your supervisor or clinical director when needed.

This guide walks through how to fill out, submit, and revise a counseling session log when approval is required.

📍 Where to Start

The easiest way to get to your session form is from the appointment record itself:

Navigate to your Appointments tab
Select the appointment in question
Look for the Add Counseling Session button or open the form if one already exists

You can also find forms under the Forms section in the main navigation—handy if you need to return to a draft.

✍️ Filling Out the Form

Each form is custom to your organization, but usually includes:

Session type and setting
Key concerns or topics covered
Clinical impressions
Interventions used
Next steps or referrals

You can add optional notes and sign the form at the bottom.

💾 Save or Submit

At the bottom of the form, you’ll see two buttons:

Save Draft – If you’re still working on your notes
Submit for Final Approval – Once you’re ready for your supervisor to review

After submission, the form’s status changes to Pending, and it lands in your supervisor’s inbox for review.

🔁 If Changes Are Requested

Your supervisor may return the form with comments. In that case:

You’ll see a notification in your inbox under “Form Submissions”
The form will be marked Sent Back

Open the form, review the comments, make any necessary edits, and resubmit for approval.

✅ Finalizing the Form

Once your supervisor approves and signs the form, its status changes to Finalized. No further edits are needed, and it’s now part of the official client record.

🧠 You can check the form’s status anytime from the appointment page or your inbox.

🔗 Related Guides

🧠 Final Thoughts

Submitting your counseling session logs promptly helps maintain accurate records and ensures clinical accountability and grant and legal compliance. If you’re under supervision, Strive DB keeps the approval process simple—with built-in routing, comments, and status tracking every step of the way.

💬 Need help customizing session forms or approval workflows? Reach out to support—we’ll make sure it works for your team.

📞 Volunteer Hotline Call Logs Without Client Access in Strive DB

Some volunteers—especially those working hotline shifts—don’t have access to client data. But they still need a secure, simple way to document calls.

Strive DB makes that possible through a special call logging form that allows a volunteer to submit call information without seeing or selecting a client record. Here’s how it works.

🧭 Accessing the Hotline Call Log

From the volunteer’s limited navigation menu, there’s a dedicated option for Log a Call. This opens a streamlined form just for recording hotline interactions.

📝 Entering Call Details

The form allows volunteers to capture the basic details of the interaction:

A name, nickname, or label for the caller (e.g., “Bobby Sue”)
The type of contact (phone, text, etc.)
The date and time of the call
Notes about what was discussed

🔐 Volunteers never see client search tools or full profiles—they just type in what they know.

🔗 What Happens After Submission

Once submitted, the call appears in the system unassociated with a known client. A staff member with full access can later:

Review the call log
Match the entry to an existing client (if appropriate)
Convert the call into a formal contact record

🧠 This system allows volunteers to document their work responsibly, without compromising survivor privacy.

🔒 Why This Matters

Hotline work is critical, but not every volunteer needs full system access. This form lets you:

Maintain privacy boundaries
Capture usable, reviewable data
Support audit trails and follow-ups by staff

Combined with time logging, this gives volunteers the tools they need—without giving them more access than necessary.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Strive DB’s call logging form for volunteers strikes the right balance: easy for frontline responders, and secure for clients. It keeps your hotline workflow smooth, accountable, and survivor-focused.

💬 Want help customizing fields or workflows for your center? Contact support—we’ll tailor it to your policies.

⏱️ Logging Volunteer Time in Strive DB

Volunteers play a critical role, and logging their hours cleanly and accurately is key for both internal tracking and grant reporting. Strive DB provides a dedicated interface for volunteers to log the time they spend on various tasks—whether that’s staffing the hotline or handling admin work.

🧭 Accessing the Volunteer Time Log

Volunteers see a simplified version of the app. From their limited menu, they’ll see a clear option labeled “Log Time”.

This opens their weekly timesheet.

📋 Entering Time for Approved Tasks

The log form includes rows for each task the volunteer is allowed to report time against. Examples might include:

Hotline
Administration
Outreach

For each row, the volunteer will:

Select a location (e.g., home, office)
Enter hours worked for each day of the week

🧠 Volunteers only see the task codes their role is authorized to log against.

📤 Submitting the Timesheet

Once hours are entered, the volunteer clicks Submit. The timesheet moves into “submitted” status and becomes visible for review.

Once approved by a supervisor, the timesheet is marked as Ready.

✅ Timesheets can be edited and resubmitted if something needs to be corrected later.

🔒 Access & Permissions

Volunteers cannot access client data or see service logs. Time logging is restricted to their assigned task categories, and visibility into submitted time is scoped only to their own entries.

This makes it safe to use for both in-office and remote volunteers—without exposing any survivor information.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Volunteer time logging in Strive DB is simple, secure, and built to meet the needs of nonprofit tracking and grant compliance. Whether volunteers are answering phones or stuffing envelopes, their time counts—and Strive makes it easy to capture.

💬 Need help configuring volunteer roles or task codes? Reach out to support—we’ll help you tailor it to your workflow.

🔒 Managing Client Restrictions and Visibility in Strive DB

Sometimes you need to make sure a client’s record is seen by as few people as possible—maybe they’re known to staff, involved in a sensitive case, or there’s a conflict of interest. That’s where Restrictions come in.

Restrictions allow you to lock down visibility on a client’s profile, limiting access to a specific list of authorized users. Here’s how it works.

🎯 Why Use a Restriction?

By default, your staff may be able to see any client records they have permission for. But what if a counselor realizes a new intake is her neighbor? Or a staff member is personally connected to a survivor?

In these cases, restrictions let you:

Prevent unwanted access to sensitive client records
Limit visibility to a specific, approved list of users
Document why that restriction is in place

🧭 Accessing the Restriction Settings

To restrict a client, start from their profile. Open the meatball (…) and look for the “Restrictions” option.

🔧 Enabling the Restriction

Click the Enable Restriction button. You’ll be prompted to:

Provide a reason for the restriction (e.g., “Known to center employee”)
Select who is allowed to access this client’s data moving forward

🧠 You’ll automatically be included on the access list when you set the restriction.

🚩 What Happens Next

Once saved, a bold Restriction flag appears at the top of the client’s profile. This includes the restriction reason and serves as a visual warning to other users.

Anyone not explicitly listed will no longer be able to view or search for this client in the system.

👁️ Managing Who Can See the Record

You can edit the restriction at any time to:

Add or remove authorized users
if circumstances change
Remove the restriction entirely when no longer needed

🔄 This gives you tight control while still being flexible as needs change.

🔗 Related Tools

Use intake info to identify sensitive clients early.
Combine with client flags to surface related concerns like suicidality or IPV.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Restrictions in Strive DB offer peace of mind when handling sensitive cases. They ensure only the right people have access, and help you document why those limits are in place. This is a crucial tool for maintaining survivor privacy and staff boundaries.

💬 Need help managing default permissions, visibility settings, or restriction review processes? Reach out to support—we’re happy to walk through it.

🚩 Using Client Flags in Strive DB

Client flags are a high-visibility way to make sure important information doesn’t get buried. Whether it’s a safety concern, a behavioral note, or a clinical risk factor, flags help your team stay informed and make better decisions across departments.

This post covers how to create, manage, and control visibility of flags in Strive DB.

➕ Adding a Flag

From any client’s profile, click the “Add a Flag” button near the top of the page. This opens a form to enter the flag’s details.

🎯 Selecting a Flag Reason

You’ll choose a flag reason from a dropdown menu. Common examples include:

Suicidality
Homicidality
IPV Relationship

This label becomes the visible headline on the client’s profile.

📝 Adding Context

You can also include a note to provide more context—for example:

“Discussed in last session with counselor”
“Client has mentioned suicidal ideation in multiple check-ins”

🧠 Notes are especially useful for quickly conveying the source or recency of the concern.

🔐 Controlling Flag Visibility

Each flag has a confidentiality setting that determines who can see it:

Flags can be restricted to counselors only
Shared with case managers and counselors
Or visible to all staff with access to the profile

This lets you surface sensitive information to the right people without overexposing it.

🔒 Only users with proper permissions will see flags marked confidential.

👁️ Where Flags Appear

Saved flags appear at the very top of a client’s profile—bold, color-coded, and impossible to miss (if you’re allowed to see them).

If a user doesn’t have permission to view a flag, they won’t see it at all.

🛠 Editing or Removing Flags

Flags are not permanent. You can:

Edit the flag reason, notes, or confidentiality
Remove the flag entirely if it’s no longer relevant

This keeps the client profile clean, current, and useful.

➕ Multiple Flags

You can add more than one flag per client. For example:

A Suicidality flag visible to counselors and case managers
And an IPV concern flag marked as counselor-only

This allows your team to track multiple concerns with different access levels, based on what’s appropriate for each role.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Client flags are one of the most visible and impactful ways to communicate risk and priority information across your organization. Use them thoughtfully, keep them updated, and lean on the confidentiality tools to strike the right balance between awareness and privacy.

💬 Need help configuring custom flag reasons or visibility rules? Reach out to support—we’ll walk you through it.

📞 Logging Contacts in Strive DB

Whether it’s a phone call, email, in-person conversation, or missed message, Strive DB gives you an easy way to log every contact with a survivor. These records form a detailed communication log for each client and help keep everyone on the same page across the team.

This post walks you through how to log contacts quickly, how they connect to follow-ups, and how staff with restricted permissions can still contribute.

🧭 What Are Contacts in Strive DB?

Contacts are logged any time you have an interaction related to a client. This includes:

Phone calls (inbound or outbound)
Emails or text messages
In-person or video meetings
Missed calls or voicemail

You’ll find the Contacts section under the Advocacy tab, but you don’t have to go there to log one. Strive is built for convenience.

⚡ Quick Ways to Log a Contact

You can start logging a contact in two main ways:

From the top bar: Use the “Log Contact” button from anywhere in the system.
From a client’s page: You’ll skip the step of selecting a client because it’s already implied.

When logging a contact, you’ll fill in:

Client (if not already selected)
Type of contact (phone, text, email, etc.)
Date/time of interaction
Category (e.g., admin, case management, counseling)
Notes about what was said or done

🔁 Optional: Create a Follow-Up

Missed a call or need to loop back? Strive lets you create a follow-up right from the contact form. You can:

Set a due date for the follow-up
Assign it to yourself or another staff member
Automatically add it to your Inbox follow-up list

🧠 Follow-ups created this way link directly to the contact, so you can track what needs to happen next.

📋 Reviewing Logged Contacts

After saving, you’ll land on the edit page for the contact you just logged. From there, you can:

Review your notes
View or edit the linked follow-up
See the full communication history from the client’s profile

Each client’s profile includes a Contact Log—a complete history of every interaction logged by your team.

🔐 Logging Contacts Without Client Access

Some users—especially hotline volunteers—may not have permission to view or search client records. They can still log contacts securely:

Enter a name or reference (e.g., “Bobby Sue”)
Fill out the rest of the contact form as usual
The contact will be saved without being tied to a known client

Later, someone with full access can match the contact to the correct client in the system.

🔒 This allows volunteers to document work while protecting survivor privacy and limiting access to sensitive data.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Contacts in Strive DB are designed for speed, clarity, and safety. Whether you’re logging an urgent call, making a routine update, or assigning a follow-up, the contact system helps your team stay coordinated and survivor-centered.

🗣️ Logging Presentations in Strive DB

Presentations are a big part of how many victim service organizations reach their communities—whether through prevention education, awareness sessions, or outreach events. In Strive DB, you can log each presentation in a way that makes grant reporting and program evaluation seamless.

This post walks you through how to enter a presentation from start to finish, including audience demographics and funding data.

🧭 Access the Presentations Section

To begin, head to the Advocacy tab in the left-hand menu, then click Presentations. This opens a table showing all previously logged presentations.

➕ Start a New Presentation Log

Click the “New Presentation” button to begin a new entry. This will open the first part of the form.

📝 Fill Out Basic Presentation Info

In the first step, you’ll log the basic event details:

Date of the presentation
Type – such as primary prevention, outreach, training
Topic – e.g., healthy relationships, consent, boundaries
Location – where the presentation took place (e.g., workplace, school)
Grant – indicate which grant funded the event
Units of service – number of presentations or hours
Pre/post test – whether a test was given before, after, or both

🔄 Proceed to the Presentation Page

Click Next to land on the specific Presentation Detail Page. This is where you’ll enter attendance and presenter info.

👥 Add Audience and Presenter Info

On this screen, fill out:

Number of attendees
Total presentations given (for that event)
Providers – who gave the presentation (mark primary vs. support)
Remarks – any additional notes or context

🧠 Recording presenters helps connect the work to staff service logs, and ensures credit for participation is tracked consistently.

📊 Add Audience Demographics

This is one of the most important steps for grant reporting.

For each unique combo of gender, race, ethnicity, and age range, add a new row
Enter the number of participants that match that combo

✅ Entering full demographics here supports accurate grant submissions without needing extra spreadsheets later.

💾 Save and Review Summary

Once everything is entered, hit Save. Strive DB will show a summary view with:

Total attendees
Number of presentations
Demographic breakdown table

🧠 Final Thoughts

The Presentations tool in Strive DB makes it simple to document outreach, track provider involvement, and stay grant-compliant. Whether it’s a one-time event or part of a long-term series, each presentation you log helps paint a clearer picture of your organization’s impact.

💬 Want help building custom presentation types or simplifying demographic input? Reach out to support—we’ll help configure it to fit your workflow.

🕵️ Adding and Managing Investigations in Strive DB

When a report turns into a criminal investigation, Strive DB gives you a clear and structured way to log what’s happening—without needing to dig through paper notes or external systems. Investigations are tied to a specific case, and allow you to track law enforcement involvement, case progress, and forensic testing.

This kind of tracking isn’t just for internal clarity—many centers use this information to proactively follow up with law enforcement agencies and district attorneys to ensure cases are moving forward, DNA results are returned, and survivors aren’t left in the dark.

Here’s how to log an investigation from start to finish, based on the training video.

🧭 Navigate to the Case

Start by going to Advocacy → Cases, then select the relevant case you want to update. The investigation record will live inside that specific case file.

🔗 Not sure how to find your way around the case layout? Check out our Strive DB Overview or Intake Guide.

🏛️ Log Law Enforcement Details

Once you’re in the case view, scroll to the Investigations section and click Add Investigation.

You’ll be prompted to enter:

Law enforcement agency handling the case
Case number issued by that agency
Phase of the investigation – such as with law enforcement, the DA, or a crime lab

🧠 Keeping track of which agency has the case helps staff follow up with the right contact and avoid gaps in communication.

📌 Set Investigation Status

Next, log the current status of the investigation:

Ongoing – Still under active investigation
Pending – Awaiting action or results (you can add a reason)
Closed – Completed, dropped, or resolved (you can also enter a reason)

📞 Many centers use this field to know when to reach out to the DA or law enforcement for an update—especially when things get stalled or go quiet.

⚖️ Add District Attorney Info

If the DA is known, you can record their involvement. This helps document if the case has moved beyond law enforcement and gives other staff visibility into prosecution status.

🧬 Enter DNA Testing Details

If forensic testing is part of the case, Strive lets you document:

Whether DNA testing is pending, and whether it’s in process
If completed, whether:
- DNA was present
- DNA was not present
- DNA was insufficient
Add notes to clarify any of the above

🔬 Tracking DNA status is especially helpful when advocating with law enforcement or crime labs for timely testing and survivor communication.

📝 Add Notes

You can leave free-form notes in the investigation record. These notes are visible to anyone with access to the case and are great for documenting updates, conversations with law enforcement, or procedural milestones.

💾 Save and Manage Investigations

Once everything’s filled in, hit Save. The investigation record will now appear in the case, and you can:

Add another investigation (e.g., if multiple jurisdictions are involved)
Edit or delete existing entries as needed

🧠 Final Thoughts

Investigations in Strive DB aren’t just administrative—they’re advocacy tools. With law enforcement details, DNA tracking, and status fields all in one place, your team can more easily follow up with investigators, press for updates, and support survivors through what is often a frustratingly slow process.

💬 Need help deciding how to standardize phases or statuses for reporting? Reach out to support—we’ll help align it with your agency’s workflow.

🔁 Managing Follow-Ups in Strive DB

Follow-ups in Strive DB act like powerful, context-aware to-do items. Whether you’re reminding yourself to call a client, assigning a follow-up to a teammate, or tracking next steps after a session, the follow-up system keeps things organized and actionable.

This post walks through how follow-ups work, where to find them, and how to get the most out of them in daily use.

🧭 Viewing Your Follow-Ups

Most users start their day in the Inbox, which includes the Follow-Ups panel. This area is divided into sections like:

Today
Tomorrow
This Week
Past Due (if any)

Each follow-up shows the assigned user, linked client (if any), and a short summary of the task.

🔗 New to the Inbox? Check out our Strive DB Overview.

🧾 Types of Follow-Ups

Strive DB supports several types of follow-ups, depending on where they’re created:

Standalone reminders – General tasks like “Email team” or “Check voicemail”
Client-related – Follow-ups tied to a specific survivor
Appointment-based – For example, scheduling a follow-up after a no-show
Service-related – Reminders to complete documentation or follow up on a provided service

💡 You’ll always know the context of a follow-up by the icon and linked record it shows.

✅ Completing a Follow-Up

Just click the checkbox next to any follow-up to mark it as complete. If the follow-up is tied to another action (like logging a service), completing that task may also mark the follow-up complete automatically.

👥 Assigning Tasks to Others

You’re not limited to your own list—follow-ups can be assigned to other users in your organization. This makes it easy to hand off next steps, coordinate care, or route follow-ups to admins or supervisors.

🧠 Assigned follow-ups show in that person’s inbox and also remain visible to users with the right permissions.

🔗 Follow-Ups with Context (Client, Appointment, or Service)

When a follow-up is tied to another record, Strive gives you convenience tools right from the follow-up:

Client – Quick link to contact, schedule, or review their profile
Appointment – Reschedule or log an outcome
Service – Complete required documentation

📝 Editing Follow-Up Details

Need to adjust something? Click into the follow-up to:

Change the due date
Reassign the task
Add or update notes
Modify the linked record (in some cases)

📍 Where Else Follow-Ups Show Up

Follow-ups don’t just live in your inbox. You’ll also find them in places that make sense contextually:

Client profile → Follow-Ups tab – See all tasks tied to that person
Appointments tab – View team-wide follow-ups related to scheduled sessions
Service records – View or add follow-ups directly from logged services

🔗 Want to see how appointments tie in? Check out our Appointments Guide.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Strive DB’s follow-up system is more than just a checklist—it’s a flexible, collaborative tool that keeps critical tasks visible and actionable. Whether you’re managing your own caseload or coordinating across a team, follow-ups help make sure nothing slips through the cracks.

💬 Need help building a workflow around follow-ups? Reach out to support—we can help configure it to fit your team.

Completing one of these related actions can automatically complete the follow-up as well.