ICD-10 for therapists

F43.10 — Post-traumatic stress disorder, unspecified

Reviewed by Albert Wong, PhD, Clinical Psychologist · Updated July 29, 2026

PTSD following exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence — intrusions, avoidance, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and hyperarousal lasting over a month.

Code: F43.10 (ICD-10-CM)
Common CPT pairings: 90791 · 90834 · 90837

Clinical picture

All four symptom clusters must be present for more than one month with functional impairment.
ICD-10 offers F43.11 (acute) and F43.12 (chronic) specifiers; F43.10 is acceptable, and many payers see all three interchangeably.
Evidence-based options include trauma-focused CBT, CPT, PE, and EMDR; name the modality in the treatment plan.
Symptoms under one month suggest acute stress reaction/disorder (F43.0).

Documentation tips

Anchor the diagnosis to a criterion-A event without needing graphic detail — 'meets criterion A via [category of event]' protects privacy and satisfies review.
Document all four clusters at intake; PCL-5 gives a strong baseline and progress measure.

Billing notes

Extended sessions (90837) are well justified for exposure-based protocols; note the protocol session structure in the plan.

Related codes

Practice Harbor puts the right code one click away — in your notes, your claims, and your superbills.

Start free — no credit card

This reference summarizes ICD-10-CM coding conventions and common billing practice for licensed clinicians. It is not medical, legal, or payer-specific billing advice; diagnosis requires clinical evaluation, and payer policies vary. Verify codes against the current ICD-10-CM release.