Psychotherapy CPT codes for 2026

Psychotherapy CPT codes are the codes a practice uses to bill talk therapy, psychiatric evaluations and crisis sessions. Most of them are chosen by time: 90832, 90834 and 90837 for psychotherapy alone, and 90833, 90836 and 90838 when psychotherapy is added to a medical visit. This guide covers each code, the time bands, what can be billed together, and the 2026 telehealth rules.

Code descriptions below are summaries, not the AMA's CPT wording. The rules quote Medicare and its contractors. Commercial payers and Medicaid programs can differ, so check your contracts. The sources are listed at the bottom.

The codes at a glance

How the time bands work

Medicare's contractors put the rule plainly: choose the code closest to the actual time. That means 16 to 37 minutes for 90832 and 90833, 38 to 52 minutes for 90834 and 90836, and 53 minutes or more for 90837 and 90838.

Two consequences:

• Under 16 minutes, no psychotherapy code. The contractor guidance says not to report psychotherapy of less than 16 minutes.
• The note has to carry the time. The code is chosen from the time, so the record must show it. Contractors require the time spent in the psychotherapy encounter to be documented.

90834 vs 90837

The difference is the time band: 90834 covers 38 to 52 minutes and 90837 covers 53 minutes or more. A session scheduled for 50 minutes is a 90834 unless it runs to 53 minutes.

For either code, the protection is the note: the time, and content that supports the length of the session.

Psychotherapy with an E/M visit

Prescribers who provide medication management and psychotherapy in the same visit bill the evaluation and management (E/M) code and add 90833, 90836 or 90838.

• The psychotherapy time excludes the E/M time. Medicare's contractor guidance says the total time does not include the E/M time.
• Both services must be separately identifiable. Document the E/M work and the psychotherapy time separately.
• Prolonged-service codes can't be added when psychotherapy is billed with an E/M service. The exception is 90837 performed without an E/M service and lasting 90 minutes or more.

Diagnostic evaluations: 90791 and 90792

90792 adds a medical assessment to the psychiatric evaluation, so it's the code prescribers use. 90791 is the evaluation without medical services.

• An evaluation is done at the onset of an illness or suspected illness. The same provider may repeat it after an extended break in treatment, an inpatient psychiatric admission, or a significant change in mental status.
• It can't be reported with an E/M code on the same day by the same provider.
• It can't be reported with a psychotherapy code on the same day.
• It may be reported more than once for a patient when separate evaluations are held with the patient and with other informants.

Crisis, family and group codes

• Crisis (90839, 90840). 90839 covers the first 60 minutes of psychotherapy for crisis and 90840 each additional 30 minutes. They're reported by themselves: not with 90791, 90792, 90832 to 90838, or 90785 to 90899.
• Family (90846, 90847). Family psychotherapy, without and with the patient present.
• Group (90853). Psychotherapy in a group led by a trained group leader. One Medicare contractor's coverage policy says the group should not exceed 10 participants.

Interactive complexity: 90785

90785 is an add-on specific to psychiatric services. It refers to communication difficulties during the psychiatric procedure. It isn't reported with the crisis codes, or with an E/M service when no psychotherapy is also reported.

Who can bill Medicare for psychotherapy

Since 1 January 2024, Medicare pays marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to diagnose and treat mental illness. Section 4121 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 created the benefit. They join the physicians, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers and other practitioners who already billed these codes.

Telehealth in 2026

• Place of service. Use POS 02 for telehealth provided somewhere other than the patient's home, and POS 10 for telehealth provided in the patient's home. Since 1 January 2024, Medicare pays telehealth to patients at home at the non-facility rate.
• Audio-only. Patients may receive audio-only telehealth at home through 31 December 2027. From 1 January 2028, audio-only remains allowed for behavioral health in the home when the clinician can use video but the patient can't or doesn't consent to it.
• In-person visit requirement. The rule is an in-person visit within 6 months before the first mental health telehealth service, then one within 12 months of each telehealth service. It takes effect after 31 December 2027. Patients who began mental health telehealth at home on or before 31 December 2027 are treated as established and need an in-person visit every 12 months.
• Modifiers. Modifier requirements for telehealth and audio-only claims vary by payer and contractor. Check yours before you bill.

What the note must show

Contractor coverage policies ask for:

• the time spent in the psychotherapy encounter
• the type of service: individual, group, family or interactive
• the therapeutic techniques and approaches used, including medications
• a periodic summary of goals and progress toward them, and an updated treatment plan

The note format (SOAP, DAP, BIRP or another) is the practice's choice. What matters is that these elements are there. Therapy progress note formats covers each format.

New for 2026

CMS expanded payment under the digital mental health treatment codes, G0552 to G0554. They now also cover FDA-cleared digital therapy devices for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These codes are separate from the psychotherapy codes above.

Where Caesar fits

The codes depend on the note: the time, the service type and the content. Caesar's AI Scribe drafts the note in your practice's template. Your clinician reviews and signs it before anything is billed. Caesar also answers and books patient calls and files faxed referrals to the chart. How Caesar works with psychiatry and therapy practices.