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It is a cold Monday morning and there is lots of work ahead. In the office, some colleagues have already started typing furiously. “Good morning,” we grin pleased with the warmth of the interior. “Morning,” they whisper back and return, in a quite perfunctory way, to their screens and keyboards.
A message marked with a “!” titled “To do list for RiO” demands attention. The first row, in bold and capital letters, grabs us, leaving no room for doubt: THESE MUST BE CARRIED OUT AS THEY FORM PART OF OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND WILL AFFECT OUR FUNDING IF THEY ARE NOT CARRIED OUT ON TIME. Have to keep reading then. A three-page to-do list follows with instructions about the many documents that need to be completed without exceptions after seeing a client for a first time, how all telephone contacts with clients should be recorded, and so on. The clarity and lightness of the cold air outside has already turned into a hazy, heavy sense of dutifulness.
The first appointment of the day is at 10 a.m. Quite a few pages to read before the meeting. The information, recorded in a loyal fashion, is all there. So, this client had a little yellow stain on his shirt when he last came to the service, established good eye contact and his speech was normal in rate and volume. Skipping through such notes, it is possible to feel baffled by their purpose. There is an uncomfortable feeling that we are spying on someone.
The client arrives on time, appearing a little anxious, and asks if the information he gives today will remain confidential. That is a hard question to answer. Yes, it will remain confidential, in the sense that it is not accessible to the general public. But some hundreds of professionals who work in any mental health trust in the UK can read his records. The industry and the lifestyle of the computer have had a pervasive impact on our working lives (Pratt, 2009), not least on the volume of information we can feasibly record and share. Stepping into the client's shoes, as Car