Author: Marissa Moore, LPC, LCPC
-
F43.23: 2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code for Adjustment Disorder
In the US healthcare system, F43.23 is a specific code used for billing within the ICD-10-CM system (effective October 2023). This code signifies a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood. Remember, international versions of ICD-10 may use different codes for this diagnosis. What does the ICD 10 Code F43.23 stand for? The ICD 10…
/
-
Improving Note-Taking for Neurodivergent Mental Health Professionals
Note-taking can be a tedious process for many mental health professionals. It can be time-consuming and knowing what information goes into your notes to protect against insurance audits and prove medical necessity can be overwhelming. If you’re writing progress notes, the challenges, and limitations associated with neurodiversity can make documenting therapy intakes and psychotherapy sessions difficult. Holding attention and space…
/
-
ADHD and Progress Notes: Strategies and Tools for Therapists
Imagine you’ve had a long day, and your practice is full. You have a day’s worth of progress notes to write but do not know where to start. Maybe you’re struggling to remember what happened in your first session this morning or have fallen behind and feel overwhelmed. You may do something else entirely because…
/
-
15 BEST Mental health Progress Note Templates & Examples
Writing progress notes may be a dreaded part of your day if you’re a mental health professional. You may wonder what a progress note should look like or what template you should use. When you are writing therapy progress notes, there isn’t one template that is recommended. Many insurance companies require you to state what…
/
-
What are DAP Notes & How to Write them?
How to Write DAP Notes There are a variety of methods therapists can use to write progress notes. With various ways to document client sessions, mental health professionals may have difficulty choosing which documentation format to use. DAP notes have three clearly defined sections, which help therapists cover the necessary information in their therapy progress…
/
-
Therapeutic Alliance: A Complete Guide
Mental health clinicians use various therapeutic modalities to help treat their clients. Some therapists are rigid in their practice, and others are more laid-back. Many times, mental health professionals gravitate towards modalities and methods of treatment that match their style. Despite the modalities used, the therapeutic relationship is one of the most essential elements of…
/
-
90853 CPT Code: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
CPT codes are numbers used to reimburse specific mental health services. CPT codes are essential for billing, ensuring the accuracy of services reported, and receiving reimbursement from third-party payors. Billing the correct CPT code is necessary for a mental health clinician. CPT codes help ensure accurate documentation of the services you provide. Psychotherapists must know…
/
-
Can Psychotherapy Notes be Subpoenaed?
Receiving a subpoena is not something many mental health clinicians like to deal with. You may feel overwhelmed and scared if you’ve received a subpoena to release information about a client. Many clinicians have questions about what is and isn’t required of you. Subpoenas are tricky to deal with because psychotherapy notes aren’t a part of the…
/
-
Private Practice Counseling Policies and Procedures
If you’re a mental health professional who owns a private practice, in your initial paperwork, you will need to have clear policies and procedures for your practice. Setting up a practice can initially feel overwhelming, but being thorough can help you be a successful private practice owner. What you decide to put in your private…
/
-
DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has a long history of revisions and is essential to a mental health professional’s work. If you’re a mental health provider, you most likely work from the DSM-5, one of the more recent manual versions. The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) is…
/
-
90791 CPT Code: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
If you’re a mental health professional, billing can be overwhelming. It’s challenging to know what billing codes you need and when. As a psychotherapist, you must remember many codes to keep on top of getting appropriately reimbursed for your services. You may ask questions like what codes do I use for what services? When do…
/
-
CPT Code 90834: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
When you write psychotherapy notes, you often have to bill a code a current procedural code. Current Procedural Technology (CPT) Codes were developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) to help provide a universal language for billing purposes across medical professionals. Each code means a different service was provided. There are also distinct codes for different…
/
-
A List of Best Resources to Find Free or Low-Cost Ceus for Counselors
Being a therapist can be a costly expense. If you’re a mental health professional, you may have to spend hundreds of dollars yearly to buy resources, renew your license, and find continuing education to keep your license. The money could add up quickly depending on how much continuing education your state requires. If you’re obtaining your continuing…
/
-
PHI in Psychotherapy Notes, What Information to Include & What to Not Include
If you’re a mental health professional, you might be familiar with writing progress notes after a psychotherapy session. There are many different types of documentation out there, and even though they may all sound similar, some are vastly different. Process notes are reflective journal-like notes that differ from progress notes, sometimes called process notes. Psychotherapy notes have different…
/
-
Hiring Therapists: How to Build and Retain a Strong Team
If you’re the owner of a mental health practice and need to hire therapists, you want to ensure you’re seeking quality employees and psychotherapists. If you haven’t ever had to hire therapists, you want to ensure you retain good therapists at your practice, but you may not know how to do this. Retaining quality psychotherapists…
/
-
Note-taking Solutions for Therapists With Vision Impairments or Carpal Tunnel
Physical limitations can cause a variety of challenges with note-taking for mental health professionals. For many, note-taking is overwhelming and stressful enough, and when you add physical limitations, it makes it even more challenging to complete paperwork-related tasks. Vision-impaired individuals and those with carpal tunnel may deal with pain or eye strain, making documentation difficult. Many…
/
-
Effective Note-Taking Strategies for Therapists with Dyslexia
Writing notes can be time-consuming and daunting if you’re a mental health professional. If you have Dyslexia, this process may be even more difficult and time consuming, as this condition can cause many frustrations. For many people, Dyslexia may cause difficulty with tasks related to writing and reading. Ensuring your notes are correct and high…
/
-
Anxiety & Progress Notes for Therapists: Overcoming Challenges & Effective Strategies
Mental health professionals have many standards they have to follow when completing documentation. Quality documentation benefits clinicians as it helps protect them in cases of insurance audits and demonstrates medical necessity, and helps ensure you’re meeting the standards required by insurance companies. Consistently writing quality progress notes and treatment plans is an essential tenet of any psychotherapist’s duties; however,…
/
-
Contact (service) Note: Documenting Between-Session Communication
If you’re a mental health clinician, there will be times when you have to reach out to your clients between sessions. When you contact a client outside of the session, you want to document this in your client’s chart. Documenting all interactions with clients outside of the session is good practice. You may contact a…
/
-
Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals: How to Keep Growing in Your Practice
If you’re a therapist or mental health professional, you’re required by your state board to obtain ongoing continuing education. You must know the guidelines your state requires and what type of continuing education credits you need. Continuing education is not reciprocal and may be dependent on the state you live in. The mental health field…
/
-
Goal Setting in Counseling and Therapy
Mental health professionals must document goals in their treatment plans and progress notes. If you accept insurance or deal with third parties, writing clearly defined goals and objectives are essential parts of your documentation. Goal setting should be a collaborative process with your clients. It can be challenging to keep track of goals if you don’t have…
/
-
Starting a Private Practice in Counseling Checklist: Essential Tools for New Therapist
If you’re considering starting a private practice in the mental health field, you may have many questions. You must take many steps to open your practice, market to your niche clients, and figure out strategies for maintaining and keeping track of everything. Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. You have to choose what structure…
/
-
PIE Notes Mental Health (With Examples)
Mental health documentation is an essential aspect of psychotherapy sessions. Documentation helps mental health professionals track progress from session to session, bill insurance, and helps justify why the client is there. Many mental health clinicians like to follow a specified format for progress notes. Following a format helps ensure you’re meeting insurance requirements and enables you…
/
-
Self-Care Tips for Psychotherapists, Therapists & Counselors: Preventing Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
Self-care for therapists should be essential if you’re a full-time professional. I remember being in graduate school, working full-time, and completing an internship simultaneously. My professors drilled self-care into my head, but no one taught me how to do it, and more importantly, I thought, when will I find the time? Now after being a…
/
-
F43.23: 2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code for Adjustment Disorder
In the US healthcare system, F43.23 is a specific code used for billing within the ICD-10-CM system (effective October 2023). This code signifies a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Anxiety and Depressed Mood. Remember, international versions of ICD-10 may use different codes for this diagnosis. What does the ICD 10 Code F43.23 stand for? The ICD 10…
/
-
Improving Note-Taking for Neurodivergent Mental Health Professionals
Note-taking can be a tedious process for many mental health professionals. It can be time-consuming and knowing what information goes into your notes to protect against insurance audits and prove medical necessity can be overwhelming. If you’re writing progress notes, the challenges, and limitations associated with neurodiversity can make documenting therapy intakes and psychotherapy sessions difficult. Holding attention and space…
/
-
ADHD and Progress Notes: Strategies and Tools for Therapists
Imagine you’ve had a long day, and your practice is full. You have a day’s worth of progress notes to write but do not know where to start. Maybe you’re struggling to remember what happened in your first session this morning or have fallen behind and feel overwhelmed. You may do something else entirely because…
/
-
15 BEST Mental health Progress Note Templates & Examples
Writing progress notes may be a dreaded part of your day if you’re a mental health professional. You may wonder what a progress note should look like or what template you should use. When you are writing therapy progress notes, there isn’t one template that is recommended. Many insurance companies require you to state what…
/
-
What are DAP Notes & How to Write them?
How to Write DAP Notes There are a variety of methods therapists can use to write progress notes. With various ways to document client sessions, mental health professionals may have difficulty choosing which documentation format to use. DAP notes have three clearly defined sections, which help therapists cover the necessary information in their therapy progress…
/
-
Therapeutic Alliance: A Complete Guide
Mental health clinicians use various therapeutic modalities to help treat their clients. Some therapists are rigid in their practice, and others are more laid-back. Many times, mental health professionals gravitate towards modalities and methods of treatment that match their style. Despite the modalities used, the therapeutic relationship is one of the most essential elements of…
/
-
90853 CPT Code: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
CPT codes are numbers used to reimburse specific mental health services. CPT codes are essential for billing, ensuring the accuracy of services reported, and receiving reimbursement from third-party payors. Billing the correct CPT code is necessary for a mental health clinician. CPT codes help ensure accurate documentation of the services you provide. Psychotherapists must know…
/
-
Can Psychotherapy Notes be Subpoenaed?
Receiving a subpoena is not something many mental health clinicians like to deal with. You may feel overwhelmed and scared if you’ve received a subpoena to release information about a client. Many clinicians have questions about what is and isn’t required of you. Subpoenas are tricky to deal with because psychotherapy notes aren’t a part of the…
/
-
Private Practice Counseling Policies and Procedures
If you’re a mental health professional who owns a private practice, in your initial paperwork, you will need to have clear policies and procedures for your practice. Setting up a practice can initially feel overwhelming, but being thorough can help you be a successful private practice owner. What you decide to put in your private…
/
-
DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has a long history of revisions and is essential to a mental health professional’s work. If you’re a mental health provider, you most likely work from the DSM-5, one of the more recent manual versions. The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) is…
/
-
90791 CPT Code: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
If you’re a mental health professional, billing can be overwhelming. It’s challenging to know what billing codes you need and when. As a psychotherapist, you must remember many codes to keep on top of getting appropriately reimbursed for your services. You may ask questions like what codes do I use for what services? When do…
/
-
CPT Code 90834: Complete Description (+Reimbursement Details 2025)
When you write psychotherapy notes, you often have to bill a code a current procedural code. Current Procedural Technology (CPT) Codes were developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) to help provide a universal language for billing purposes across medical professionals. Each code means a different service was provided. There are also distinct codes for different…
/
-
A List of Best Resources to Find Free or Low-Cost Ceus for Counselors
Being a therapist can be a costly expense. If you’re a mental health professional, you may have to spend hundreds of dollars yearly to buy resources, renew your license, and find continuing education to keep your license. The money could add up quickly depending on how much continuing education your state requires. If you’re obtaining your continuing…
/
-
PHI in Psychotherapy Notes, What Information to Include & What to Not Include
If you’re a mental health professional, you might be familiar with writing progress notes after a psychotherapy session. There are many different types of documentation out there, and even though they may all sound similar, some are vastly different. Process notes are reflective journal-like notes that differ from progress notes, sometimes called process notes. Psychotherapy notes have different…
/
-
Hiring Therapists: How to Build and Retain a Strong Team
If you’re the owner of a mental health practice and need to hire therapists, you want to ensure you’re seeking quality employees and psychotherapists. If you haven’t ever had to hire therapists, you want to ensure you retain good therapists at your practice, but you may not know how to do this. Retaining quality psychotherapists…
/
-
Note-taking Solutions for Therapists With Vision Impairments or Carpal Tunnel
Physical limitations can cause a variety of challenges with note-taking for mental health professionals. For many, note-taking is overwhelming and stressful enough, and when you add physical limitations, it makes it even more challenging to complete paperwork-related tasks. Vision-impaired individuals and those with carpal tunnel may deal with pain or eye strain, making documentation difficult. Many…
/
-
Effective Note-Taking Strategies for Therapists with Dyslexia
Writing notes can be time-consuming and daunting if you’re a mental health professional. If you have Dyslexia, this process may be even more difficult and time consuming, as this condition can cause many frustrations. For many people, Dyslexia may cause difficulty with tasks related to writing and reading. Ensuring your notes are correct and high…
/
-
Anxiety & Progress Notes for Therapists: Overcoming Challenges & Effective Strategies
Mental health professionals have many standards they have to follow when completing documentation. Quality documentation benefits clinicians as it helps protect them in cases of insurance audits and demonstrates medical necessity, and helps ensure you’re meeting the standards required by insurance companies. Consistently writing quality progress notes and treatment plans is an essential tenet of any psychotherapist’s duties; however,…
/
-
Contact (service) Note: Documenting Between-Session Communication
If you’re a mental health clinician, there will be times when you have to reach out to your clients between sessions. When you contact a client outside of the session, you want to document this in your client’s chart. Documenting all interactions with clients outside of the session is good practice. You may contact a…
/
-
Continuing Education for Mental Health Professionals: How to Keep Growing in Your Practice
If you’re a therapist or mental health professional, you’re required by your state board to obtain ongoing continuing education. You must know the guidelines your state requires and what type of continuing education credits you need. Continuing education is not reciprocal and may be dependent on the state you live in. The mental health field…
/
-
Goal Setting in Counseling and Therapy
Mental health professionals must document goals in their treatment plans and progress notes. If you accept insurance or deal with third parties, writing clearly defined goals and objectives are essential parts of your documentation. Goal setting should be a collaborative process with your clients. It can be challenging to keep track of goals if you don’t have…
/
-
Starting a Private Practice in Counseling Checklist: Essential Tools for New Therapist
If you’re considering starting a private practice in the mental health field, you may have many questions. You must take many steps to open your practice, market to your niche clients, and figure out strategies for maintaining and keeping track of everything. Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. You have to choose what structure…
/
-
PIE Notes Mental Health (With Examples)
Mental health documentation is an essential aspect of psychotherapy sessions. Documentation helps mental health professionals track progress from session to session, bill insurance, and helps justify why the client is there. Many mental health clinicians like to follow a specified format for progress notes. Following a format helps ensure you’re meeting insurance requirements and enables you…
/
-
Self-Care Tips for Psychotherapists, Therapists & Counselors: Preventing Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
Self-care for therapists should be essential if you’re a full-time professional. I remember being in graduate school, working full-time, and completing an internship simultaneously. My professors drilled self-care into my head, but no one taught me how to do it, and more importantly, I thought, when will I find the time? Now after being a…
/