Diagnosis and treatment in Georgia

Getting a diagnosis

Start with your family doctor or, for a child, the pediatrician. They can refer you to a specialist, usually a psychiatrist, or for children a child psychiatrist.⁵ Most specialists work in Tbilisi, so families from other regions often need to travel.¹

Georgia has no national guideline on how ADHD should be diagnosed and treated, so the approach can differ from one doctor to another.

Signs to look for in children · Signs in adults

Costs

Therapy is expensive and is not covered by insurance.¹ A month's supply of atomoxetine can cost up to about 500 GEL.²

Medicines

Atomoxetine is the only ADHD medicine sold in Georgia. It is often out of stock, and higher doses are hard to find.²

Stimulant medicines, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta) or amphetamine-based medicines, are the ones used most often for ADHD in Europe.⁶ They are not sold in Georgia. In February 2023, the Ministry of Health confirmed that none of them is registered here, and said it is up to drug companies and importers to register them.²

You can look up medicines in the Social Service Agency's online medicine search.⁷

What the law says

Georgian law classes methylphenidate and amphetamines as narcotic drugs.³ Bringing them into the country without the right documents is a crime.⁴

A person entering Georgia can bring up to 31 days' supply with certified documents.^4,8 This is meant for visits. It is not a way to get medicine long-term, and according to adhd.ge, these medicines cannot be sent by post.²

In 2026, a tourist who arrived with prescribed Adderall but without the documents was charged with smuggling.⁹ Read what documents you need

Where care falls short

People looking for ADHD care in Georgia often run into the same problems:

• Few specialists outside Tbilisi. Most psychiatrists and psychologists who work with ADHD are in the capital. Outside Tbilisi, ADHD is rarely talked about, and many people do not know it exists.¹
• No national guideline. Georgia has no national guideline on diagnosing and treating ADHD. The UK, Germany and Canada each have one.^6,10,11
• Limited choice of medicine. European guidelines name stimulant medicines as a main treatment option.^6,10 In Georgia, only atomoxetine is available, and it is often out of stock.²
• Costs fall on families. Therapy is expensive and not covered by insurance.¹
• Stigma. ADHD is often seen as carelessness or bad behaviour, not as a medical condition.¹

Georgia's National Mental Health Strategy for 2022–2030 already aims to train more mental health staff, improve care for children and young people, and bring services closer to where people live.¹² Including ADHD in this work, with clear national guidance and access to the medicines used across Europe, would make help easier to find for families across the country. Recommendations

Support at school

Georgian schools have a system for children with special educational needs, including individual learning plans. How well it works differs from school to school.¹³ How to ask the school for help

Who else works on ADHD in Georgia

• adhd.ge: a volunteer website about ADHD medicines in Georgia.²
• ADHD Georgia: a patient organisation in Tbilisi, and a member of ADHD Europe.¹⁴

Background

• Georgia has signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It has applied in Georgia since April 2014.¹⁵
• Georgia's National Mental Health Strategy for 2022–2030 includes children's mental health.¹²
• Georgia became a candidate to join the European Union in December 2023.¹⁶

Where this information comes from

1. Radio Tavisupleba (13 June 2026). "It helps you live but causes trouble with the law: what happens if ADHD medicine is found on you?" (in Georgian; title translated). RFE/RL.
2. "ADHD in Georgia." adhd.ge, an independent volunteer site. Includes the Ministry of Health's reply of February 2023. Last updated 9 July 2026.
3. Parliament of Georgia (2013). Law No. 845-რს amending the Law "On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Precursors and Narcological Assistance", Annex 2 (in Georgian). Legislative Herald of Georgia.
4. Revenue Service of Georgia. Prohibited and Permitted Medicaments (customs leaflet, PDF).
5. NHS (UK National Health Service). "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): Diagnosis."
6. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK). NG87: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (2018, updated 2019).
7. Social Service Agency of Georgia. Medicine search (in Georgian).
8. Consulate General of Georgia in New York, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. "Bringing medications into Georgia."
9. OC Media (June 2026). "Canadian tourist arrested in Georgia for having ADHD medication released after hefty fine."
10. AWMF (Germany). S3 guideline 028-045: ADHD in children, adolescents and adults (in German).
11. CADDRA. Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines.
12. EU4Georgia. "Comprehensive Approach to Integrated and Accessible Mental Health in Georgia (COMPASS-GE)," a project supporting the National Mental Health Strategy 2022–2030.
13. European Commission, Eurydice. "Georgia: separate special education needs provision in early childhood and school education."
14. ADHD Europe. "Our members" (lists ADHD Georgia, Tbilisi, as a full member organisation).
15. Government of Georgia. Initial report of Georgia to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/GEO/1). United Nations.
16. Council of the European Union. "Georgia": candidate status granted December 2023.