i do remember most of what transpired so before i take another, i have to put things in writing. if i have permission from the counselee, i write things in bullet form enough for me to remember and write down what transpired in that particular session.
As I assume you can bring in a paper and pens without issue, I encourage you take shorthand field notes onto a pre-printed interview protocol. Before you print the protocol, leave lots of space on the page between questions so you can record the counselee's responses, as well as any thoughts you might have about their remarks (or lack thereof). Good luck!
Having done lots of prison assessments in an earlier stage of my career, we were not able to audio or video record sessions so I took careful notes in bullet form, often using a semi-structured guide as suggested above. I developed my own shorthand so common phrases or ideas could be captured quickly.
Yes, I agree note taking - and also using the interview as a reflective journal - in other words using each session to tell a story - adds to the picture - in my work this was always useful, another thing we did, was - to validate what was in my notes, I would pass on the client and say - is there something you think I missed or should add - but this assumes that they can read and write and one-to-one session and that you have time do it