90853·CPT (AMA)

Group Psychotherapy

CPT 90853 bills group psychotherapy other than a multiple-family group, per participating client. Add-on rules, MUE, documentation, and measurement in groups.

CPT 90853 at a glance

  • CPT 90853

    Group · therapeutic service

    Group Psychotherapy

  • Typical reimbursement

    $30–$50 per patient

    US national commercial medians; varies by payer, plan and contract.

  • Scales that bill here

    4 validated scales

    A claim needs both a CPT and an ICD-10 code. ICD-10 reference

Code descriptor (verbatim AMA)

  • Group psychotherapy (other than of a multiple-family group).”

    Source: AMA Current Procedural Terminology, code 90853.

How 90853 works

90853 is a per-client code. One group session produces as many claims as there were clients present, each with:

  • The client's own diagnosis.
  • The client's own note covering their participation and response.
  • One unit of 90853 for that date of service.

The descriptor names no time, unlike 90832, 90834, and 90837. Record start and stop times anyway.

What qualifies as group psychotherapy

Group psychotherapy uses the interaction between members as part of treatment. Common formats include:

  • Skills groups, such as DBT skills training or CBT for anxiety.
  • Process groups in outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization programmes.
  • Trauma-focused and substance use groups.
  • Diagnosis-specific groups, such as groups for perinatal depression or bipolar disorder.

Psychoeducation delivered as a lecture, support groups without a therapeutic intervention, and social or recreational activities are generally not billed as group psychotherapy. A group of families meeting together is billed as multiple-family group psychotherapy (90849), not 90853.

Billing rules

  • One unit per client per date of service (MUE 1, adjudication indicator 3).
  • Bill only attending clients. Absence means no claim for that client.
  • Interactive complexity. Add-on 90785 may be reported with 90853 for a client when a recognized communication factor is present for that client.
  • Not with crisis codes. Psychotherapy for crisis is reported by itself and may not be reported with codes 90785 to 90899.
  • Group size and facilitator rules are payer-set. Where limits exist, plans and state Medicaid programmes set them. Check the contract.
  • Telehealth groups. Payer policies on virtual groups vary and change; confirm before billing.

Common ICD-10 pairings

  • F33.1 Major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate
  • F41.1 Generalized anxiety disorder
  • F43.10 Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • F10.20 Alcohol use disorder, moderate
  • F11.20 Opioid use disorder, moderate
  • F60.3 Borderline personality disorder, in DBT groups

See the full ICD-10 reference for diagnosis-specific scale recommendations.

Documentation requirements

Each client's 90853 note should include:

  • Date of service, group name or type, and start and stop times.
  • The client's diagnosis and the treatment plan goal the group addresses.
  • The group's focus and the interventions used.
  • The client's participation and response, written about this client, not copied across the group.
  • Risk observations and any follow-up needed.
  • The plan for the next session.

Cloned notes are a known audit risk for group therapy. A short individual paragraph per client, plus a dated score from a brief scale, gives each note its own evidence of progress.

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Put this guide to work with measurement-based care

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CPT 90853?

    CPT 90853 is the AMA code for 'Group psychotherapy (other than of a multiple-family group).' It bills psychotherapy delivered to a group of clients, with each participating client billed on their own claim.

  • Does 90853 have a time requirement?

    No. Unlike the individual psychotherapy codes (90832, 90834, 90837), the 90853 descriptor names no time. Record the session length anyway: payers and auditors look for it, and it shows the service was delivered as scheduled.

  • How is 90853 billed for a group of eight?

    Each of the eight clients who attended has their own 90853 line on their own claim, with their own diagnosis and note. Clients who did not attend are not billed.

  • What is the difference between 90853 and 90849?

    90849 is multiple-family group psychotherapy, where several families meet together. 90853 is group psychotherapy for clients, excluding that multiple-family format.

Sources

    1. 1.American Medical Association. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) 2026, codes 90849 and 90853.
    2. 2.American Psychological Association Services. Psychotherapy Codes for Psychologists (descriptors for 90849/90853; 90785 primary codes).
    3. 3.Wisconsin Physicians Service (Medicare contractor). Billing and Coding: Psychiatry and Psychology Services (A57480), revision effective 2026-01-01.
    1. 4.First Coast Service Options (Medicare contractor). Billing and Coding: Psychiatric Diagnostic Evaluation and Psychotherapy Services (A57520), revision effective 2026-10-01.
    2. 5.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare NCCI Practitioner Services Medically Unlikely Edits, table effective 2026-10-01 (90853 = 1 unit, adjudication indicator 3). MUE values are revised quarterly; confirm the current table before relying on this figure.