Aftercare Sessions - Helm User Guide

What Are Aftercare Sessions?

Aftercare is the process of tending to each other after an intense or emotionally significant scene. Helm's aftercare sessions give both partners a structured way to work through a shared checklist, record how each person is feeling at the close, and create a permanent record tied to that scene.

Sessions are linked one-to-one with a scene log entry. Once a session is started and completed, a read-only summary appears inline on that scene log card for future reference.

✓ Accessible to Both Roles

Either partner — Dominant or submissive — can start and work through an aftercare session. There is no role restriction on the aftercare flow itself.

Starting an Aftercare Session

Aftercare sessions are initiated from the scene log, not from a separate menu. To start one:

Open the Scene Log

Navigate to the scene log for your relationship. Find the scene log entry for the scene you have just completed.
Tap "Start Aftercare"

Each scene log entry shows a "Start Aftercare" button when no session exists yet. The button disappears once a session has been started for that entry.
Work Through the Checklist

The aftercare session panel opens as a bottom sheet on mobile and a modal on desktop. Work through the checklist items together, tapping each one as it is addressed.
Complete the Session

Once at least one item has been checked, the "Complete Session" button becomes active. Tap it to record how each partner is feeling and close the session.

⚠ One Session Per Scene Entry

Each scene log entry supports one aftercare session. Once completed, the session cannot be re-opened. The summary remains visible on the scene log card.

The Aftercare Checklist

When a session opens, it loads the aftercare checklist configured for your relationship. Checklist items are grouped into three categories:

Category	Covers
Physical	Bodily comfort — hydration, warmth, rest, physical care
Emotional	Emotional grounding — checking in verbally, reassurance, connection
Safety	Confirming that both partners feel safe and have what they need

Progress Bar

A progress bar at the top of the checklist shows how many items have been completed out of the total. The count (e.g., "4 of 9 completed") and percentage update in real time as items are checked.

Checking Items

Tap any checklist item to mark it complete. Tapping again unchecks it. Changes are saved immediately — if you close the panel and return, checked items remain checked. The session stays active (not closed) until you explicitly tap "Complete Session."

✓ Minimum Requirement

You must check at least one item before the "Complete Session" button becomes active. There is no requirement to check every item — the goal is genuine care, not perfect scores.

Session States

A session moves through two states:

State	Meaning
Active	The session has been started but not yet completed. The checklist is interactive and items can still be checked or unchecked.
Closed	The session has been completed. A summary is written to the scene log entry. The session is read-only from this point forward.

Completing a Session

When you tap "Complete Session," a second panel opens to record how each person is feeling. The feeling selector presents five options for each partner:

Great — feeling well and grounded
Good — generally fine
Okay — neutral, present
Low — subdued but stable
Rough — difficult, needs continued support

The submissive's feeling is required before the form can be submitted. The Dominant's feeling is optional. Once submitted, both feelings are recorded alongside the session timestamp and the count of checked items.

✓ No Judgment in the Feeling Scale

Feeling options are not color-coded as good or bad. "Rough" is a valid and honest answer. The goal is an accurate record, not a positive one.

What Is Recorded

A completed aftercare session stores the following:

The scene log entry it is linked to
The list of checklist items in the session
Which items were checked at completion
The submissive's reported feeling at completion
The Dominant's reported feeling at completion (if provided)
The timestamp of completion

The Session Summary

After a session is closed, a compact summary appears inline on the scene log card. It shows:

A "Aftercare Complete" badge
Items checked out of the total (e.g., "7 of 9")
The submissive's feeling and the Dominant's feeling, displayed as emoji + label
The completion timestamp

The summary is read-only. It is visible to both partners in the same hierarchy and forms a permanent part of the scene log record.

Aftercare Templates

The checklist items that appear in a session come from your relationship's aftercare template. Dominants can manage templates in the scene log's Aftercare tab:

Built-in templates: Helm ships pre-made checklists for common scene types. These cannot be edited directly but can be used as the starting point for a custom checklist.
Custom checklists: Dominants can create their own checklists with any items, assigning each to Physical, Emotional, or Safety category.
Starting blank: You can also start from an empty checklist and add items one by one.

Template management is available at Scene Log → Aftercare tab. At least one checklist item is required before a template can be saved.

Connection to Drop Detection

Aftercare sessions and the drop detection system (Spec 154) work together. If a low or rough feeling is recorded at session completion, or if behavioral signals suggest a partner may be experiencing drop in the days following a scene, drop detection may raise a risk alert on the Dominant's Helm dashboard. See the Drop Detection guide for details on that flow.

Privacy

Aftercare session data is private to your relationship hierarchy.
Both the Dominant and the submissive can view session summaries on the scene log.
Platform administrators cannot view aftercare content.