Art Therapy Billing: CPT Codes and Insurance Reimbursement

Art therapy — using creative processes to support emotional expression, trauma processing, and psychological well-being — has no dedicated CPT code. Like most expressive therapies, it is billed under standard psychotherapy codes. But credential requirements, state licensing variations, and documentation practices add complexity that every art therapist in private practice needs to understand.

Which CPT Codes Apply to Art Therapy

Art therapy sessions are billed using the time-based individual psychotherapy codes:

• 90837 — 53+ minutes of individual psychotherapy. The most appropriate code for a full art therapy session.
• 90834 — 38–52 minutes of individual psychotherapy. Used when sessions run approximately 45 minutes.
• 90832 — 16–37 minutes of individual psychotherapy. Suitable for shorter sessions or brief expressive art check-ins.
• 90853 — Group psychotherapy. Used when art therapy is delivered in a group format. Each participant is billed separately. See the group therapy billing guide for documentation requirements.
• 90791 — Psychiatric diagnostic evaluation. Used for the initial assessment where you establish the treatment diagnosis and plan.

Credential Requirements: Who Can Bill

This is where art therapy gets complicated. Insurance panels and payers recognize specific licensed professions — typically LCSW, LPC, MFT, Psychologist, and in some states LMHC. Board-certified art therapists (ATR-BC) hold a credential from the Art Therapy Credentials Board, but this credential alone is not sufficient for insurance billing in most states.

To bill insurance for art therapy sessions:

• You must hold a state license that your payers recognize for mental health services (e.g., LCSW, LPC, LMHC, MFT, or PhD-level psychologist).
• The art therapy sessions must be within your scope of practice under that license.
• You may identify yourself by your licensed credential on the superbill — not as an "art therapist" — when billing insurance.

States With Art Therapy Licensure

A growing number of states have established state-level art therapy licensure (e.g., Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and others). Where state art therapy licensure exists, some payers may credential and reimburse licensed art therapists under their own license type. Check with each payer individually — and verify that your state has enacted art therapy licensure before attempting to bill under that credential.

Documenting Art Therapy Sessions

Effective documentation for art therapy sessions follows the same principles as any psychotherapy note — but with specific attention to the expressive components:

• Clinical focus: What was the therapeutic goal of this session? (e.g., "Processing grief through collage to externalize feelings of loss")
• Directives and materials: Describe the art directive given and medium used (watercolor, clay, mixed media collage).
• Client response: Describe the client's engagement, affect, and what emerged during the creative process and verbal processing.
• Therapeutic meaning: Connect the art-making to treatment goals and the client's diagnosis. This is what establishes medical necessity.
• Progress toward goals: Document movement (or obstacles) in relation to the established treatment plan.

Diagnosis Codes Commonly Used With Art Therapy

Art therapy is used across a wide range of presentations. Common ICD-10 pairings:

• F43.10–F43.12 — PTSD and trauma-related disorders. Expressive arts are widely used for non-verbal trauma processing.
• F32.x — Major depressive disorder.
• F43.21–F43.23 — Adjustment disorder. Art therapy is common for grief, loss, and life transition work.
• F41.1 — Generalized anxiety disorder.

Out-of-Network Art Therapy Billing

Many art therapists practice out-of-network, either because they lack an insurance- recognized license type or by choice. Clients can still submit superbills for out-of-network reimbursement when a licensed provider delivers the service. Superbilled makes it straightforward to generate compliant superbills for art therapy sessions, listing the correct CPT code, diagnosis, and provider credential for client OON reimbursement submissions.