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ICD-10 codes for grief

Learn the ICD‑10 codes for grief, bereavement (Z63.4), and prolonged grief disorder (F43.81) — and understand when grief becomes a diagnosable mental health condition.

October 16, 2025

8 min read

Grief can significantly impact a person’s mental health. As a therapist, it’s your responsibility to support clients experiencing grief — and to understand how to properly document their diagnosis. When your billing and documentation are accurate, you can spend less time on admin tasks and more time offering the support your grieving clients need most.

Below, learn more about how grief can affect your clients, how to use grief ICD-10 codes in your practice, and how Headway can help support your documentation and billing processes.

Primary ICD‑10 code for grief

When a client is seeking therapy for support with loss and grief, but the client doesn’t meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis, you can use an ICD-10 Z code. The most common ICD-10 Z code for grief is Z63.4, or “Disappearance and death of a family member.” 

You can use this code when: 

  • A client is struggling to adjust to the death of a family member
  • The grief is considered uncomplicated and doesn’t meet criteria for a mental health disorder
  • The code is a secondary code along with an F code that represents a diagnosis like prolonged grief disorder or adjustment disorder

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You can also use ICD-10 code variants for grief-related mental health conditions. Common ICD-10 variants include: 

  • F43.81, Prolonged grief disorder: Intense, persistent grief lasting beyond cultural expectations, interfering with daily functioning.
  • F43.20, Adjustment disorder, unspecified: Significant distress from a life change or stressor (like loss) without clear symptom type and causing an impairment in functioning.
  • F43.21, Adjustment disorder, with depressed mood: Grief-related sadness and hopelessness that impair daily life.
  • F43.29, Adjustment disorder, with other symptoms: Grief response showing anxiety, behavior changes, or mixed symptoms not limited to depression.

It’s important you make a clear, accurate and specific diagnosis that is appropriate to your individual patient clinical picture. These examples should be for reference and are not intended to guide a diagnosis. The client must meet diagnostic criteria for the F code they are assigned.

Why accurate ICD‑10 coding for grief matters

ICD-10 codes are an important part of identifying and managing mental health conditions and their symptoms in a therapy practice. For billing, these diagnostic codes are the standardized language insurance companies use to process claims — and ensure you’re paid for your work. You may not be paid promptly if you use an incorrect code. 

ICD-10 codes also support accurate documentation and treatment planning for clients experiencing grief or related mental health conditions. Choosing the most specific code helps clarify your client’s symptom, guides evidence-based treatment approaches, and ensures continuity of care if the client changes providers. Detailed coding also helps make sure your records align with compliance requirements, to prevent stress during potential audits.

Clients experiencing grief or those diagnosed with a grief-related disorder may also experience a related mental health condition. Your documentation should include all relevant ICD-10 codes and reflect your client’s diagnosis and treatment plan. Common grief-adjacent ICD-10 codes include: 

  • F41.1, Generalized anxiety disorder: Excessive, persistent worry or anxiety that can be heightened after a loss.
  • F41.0, Panic disorder: Recurrent panic attacks, sometimes triggered or worsened by grief.
  • F32.9, Major depressive disorder, single episode, unspecified: Depressive symptoms that go beyond typical grief and impair functioning.
  • F33.1, Major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate: Ongoing or recurring depressive episodes that may overlap with grief.
  • F43.10, Post-traumatic stress disorder, unspecified: PTSD symptoms (flashbacks, avoidance, hyperarousal) following a traumatic loss.
  • F51.9, Sleep disorder, unspecified: General sleep difficulties that may arise during grieving.

Treatment and clinical considerations

After diagnosing your client with a grief-related ICD-10 code, it’s important to determine a grief treatment plan to help them process their emotions and manage their symptoms. 

There are many evidence-based therapeutic interventions for grief. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is one of the most common therapy techniques. It focuses on how a person’s thoughts affect their emotions and behaviors. For a grieving client, CBT can help process thoughts and beliefs about their loss. 

Acceptance and commitment therapy, or ACT, helps clients accept their loss so they can process it rather than avoid the difficult feelings that come with grief. In ACT, a therapist also helps the client commit to actions that align with their values — for example, finding ways to honor the lost loved one. 

Other types of therapy that may help clients process grief include: 

  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
  • Complicated grief therapy (CGT)
  • Narrative therapy 
  • Interpersonal therapy 

Resources & next steps

Grief can be overwhelming for individuals experiencing it. The following resources can help you learn more about grief and how to support clients affected by it: 

Expand your practice with Headway

Navigating ICD-10 codes can feel overwhelming, but Headway makes it easier. Our platform streamlines documentation with audit-ready templates, so you can stay compliant while focusing on client care. From coding support to simplified billing, Headway helps you manage the details, so you can be present for your clients on their healing journeys.

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This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

© 2025 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

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