Psychologists and Psychiatrists in Georgia: Prices, Clinics, Antidepressant Prescriptions

Foreigners pay the full cost of mental health care in Georgia, but it is more affordable than in Europe: a psychologist's session costs 70-100 lari, a private psychiatrist's appointment 200-300 lari, and a pack of sertraline 21 lari. The state mental health program is free only for citizens, and the professions of psychologist and psychotherapist are not licensed in the country at all.

Below is an unvarnished breakdown: where to turn in an acute situation, how a psychiatrist differs from a psychologist and why Georgians take their anxiety to a neurologist, what appointments and medication cost, how to get a prescription for antidepressants, and what insurance covers.

If You Feel Bad Right Now

If life is at risk, call 112: the ambulance is free, and in a psychiatric crisis it takes you to the on-duty psychiatric ward. Georgia has no single round-the-clock psychological helpline. Children and teenagers can call the 116 111 line, and victims of violence can call 116 006.

Without hospitalization, the fastest way to see a psychiatrist is a private clinic: Mental Hub takes patients daily from 10:00 to 20:00, including online, and the emergency department of American Hospital Tbilisi works around the clock. Prescription sedatives are not sold at a pharmacy without a Georgian prescription, so a supply of your own medication when moving matters more than it seems.

Who Is Who

A psychiatrist in Georgia is a doctor with a state certificate. Any certified doctor can write a prescription for antidepressants, but people usually go to a psychiatrist for them. Strong sedatives such as diazepam and clonazepam are prescribed on a special paper form and for no more than two weeks.

Psychologists and psychotherapists are not considered doctors, and this is the main feature of the market: according to Georgia's Mental Health Strategy for 2022-2030, clinical psychologists and social workers are not regulated by the health sector. Psychologists have no license, register, or mandatory certificate, and anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist.

The second feature is cultural: because of stigma, Georgians with anxiety and insomnia more often go to a neurologist than to a psychiatrist. In a 2020 survey, among people with mental health problems 17% had consulted a psychiatrist, 38% a neurologist, and 40% a psychologist. So a family doctor at a polyclinic may well refer you with panic attacks to a neurologist, and that is not a reception desk error but the local norm.

Without a license, a specialist can be checked only by indirect signs: a degree in psychology, postgraduate training in a specific method (CBT, gestalt, EMDR), membership in a professional association such as the Georgian Federation of Psychotherapy, and regular supervision. A good specialist names all of this at the first meeting.

What It Costs

These are 2026 benchmarks from Tbilisi clinic price lists and the EUAA report on psychiatry in Georgia (April 2025). Georgian-speaking psychologists in private practice are cheaper, and sessions in English and Russian at clinics cost 20-30 lari more.

A first psychiatric consultation lasts 50-60 minutes, follow-ups are shorter and cheaper. Clinics run online appointments at the same prices as in-person ones, and this is legal: a psychiatrist can issue an electronic prescription after a video consultation.

Where to Go

Tbilisi has more than 100 psychological centers and practices, while psychiatry is concentrated in a few clinics. Below are those that see patients in English or Russian and work with foreigners:

There are many Russian-speaking psychologists in private practice in Tbilisi, most of whom arrived after 2022 and work in person and online. English-speaking ones are fewer and more often concentrated in the clinics from the table. Almost all psychiatrists over forty speak Russian, while younger ones more often choose English, like other doctors in Georgia.

Medication and Prescriptions

Antidepressants, antipsychotics, and sleeping pills belong to the second group of medicines and since March 1, 2022, have been dispensed only with an electronic Form No. 3 prescription issued by a local doctor. A foreign prescription or a medical record extract is not valid at pharmacies in Georgia, so even people who have been on the same regimen for years first need to see a local doctor, usually a psychiatrist.

Benzodiazepines (diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam) belong to the first group of controlled substances: they are prescribed on a special form and sold only at pharmacies with a special permit, and ordinary chain outlets do not stock them. The drugs in the table below are inexpensive: since 2023 the state has set reference prices for more than 7,500 items, above which a pharmacy may not sell.

Prices are from the GPC and PSP chains as of October 24, 2026. The practical conclusion: when moving, bring a supply for at least a month and a summary with the international names of your drugs, so that the psychiatrist picks a local equivalent at the first visit instead of starting the selection from scratch.

The State and Insurance

The state mental health program covers outpatient visits, crisis care, and inpatient treatment free of charge, but only for Georgian citizens; foreigners can access it only through involuntary hospitalization by court order. The budget of the mental health programs in 2024 was 63.7 million lari, or 3.5% of government health spending.

Until 2021, private policies did not cover psychiatry at all. TBC Insurance was the first to introduce a 50% reimbursement of psychiatrist and psychotherapist fees for corporate clients, and limited options followed at other insurers: at Mental Hub a visit under a TBC policy costs 50-65 lari instead of 100-130. Check whether a policy has such an option before you buy health insurance in Georgia.

What to Know About the Context

Officially, 2.3% of Georgia's population is registered with mental and behavioral disorders, while a study by the Ministry of Health and Expertise France found at least 5%: the difference is the share of people who do not seek help. Among students aged 18-24, one in three reported signs of depression and one in four anxiety, while 60% did not know of a single support service.

Treatment here is still built around pills: medication makes up 61% of prescribed care and psychotherapy 32%. For a foreigner this means two things: a psychiatrist will readily write a prescription at the first visit, and you have to look for talk therapy yourself rather than wait for a doctor to refer you.

In Short

• Crisis: 112; fast psychiatric appointment without hospitalization: Mental Hub daily 10:00-20:00, American Hospital 24/7
• Psychologist 70-100 lari, a session in Russian or English at a clinic 100-130 lari, private psychiatrist 200-300 lari
• Psychologists are not licensed: check the degree, method, association, and supervision yourself
• Antidepressants only with a local electronic prescription, foreign ones are invalid, bring a month's supply
• Sertraline 21 lari, escitalopram 16 lari, benzodiazepines only at special-permit pharmacies
• The state program is for citizens only; private insurance rarely covers psychiatry and at most by half