Giorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze
Professor of Psychiatry, MD,PhD · Founder & Clinical Director
Giorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze
Medically reviewed byGiorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze · Professor of Psychiatry, MD,PhD · Founder & Clinical Director· Last updated: July 7, 2026
Giorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze is a psychiatrist (MD, PhD, Dr.P.H.) and professor, founder and CEO of the Mental Health Research Center (GSMRC). He has practised clinically since graduating from the psychiatry residency programme at Tbilisi State Medical University in 2005.
He has been a founder and co-founder of private psychiatric practice in Georgia since 2007, having established one of the country's early private psychiatry clinics; from 2005 to 2007 he served on the forensic psychiatry committee at the M. Asatiani National Institute of Psychiatry.
In 2013 he established the military mental health system within the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. Together with Dutch and U.S. partners, he implemented programmes for psychological assessment, pre- and post-deployment monitoring, treatment and rehabilitation, psychological recruitment, and suicide prevention.
He earned a PhD in Psychiatry from Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (2008–2017) and a Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) from Tbilisi State Medical University (2017–2018). In 2015, with the support of Prof. Eric Vermetten, he began a doctoral programme in psychiatry at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Netherlands.
He was an assistant professor at Tbilisi State University from 2012 to 2016, has been a professor at Georgian American University (GAU) since 2018, and a professor at the International Teaching University of Management and Communication «Alterbridge» since 2021. In 2018 he joined the Clinical Trials Network and Institute (CTNI) of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) as a researcher/rater. As a professor of clinical psychiatry and psychopharmacology, his lecture courses introduced the evidence-based use of quetiapine, venlafaxine, aripiprazole, and vortioxetine into Georgian clinical practice.
His clinical and research expertise spans trauma- and stressor-related disorders (PTSD, ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, depressive and bipolar spectrum disorders, personality disorders, schizophrenia and psychotic conditions, addiction, and military and occupational mental health. His research focuses on PTSD and comorbid disorders and the mechanisms that link them, as well as obsessionality as a phenomenon and its comorbidities. He has authored more than 20 scientific papers.
A selection of publications is listed below; the full bibliography includes more than 30 scientific works.
Clinical services are provided within the framework of the clinic's professional standards.
Credentials & competence
- Qualifications
- MD, PhD, Dr.P.H.
- Languages
- GEORGIAN, ENGLISH, RUSSIAN
Education & international qualification
Doctoral Research
Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) · Netherlands · 2015
Dr.P.H. — Public Health
Tbilisi State Medical University · 2018
Doctoral Studies — Psychiatry
Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University · 2017
Residency — Psychiatry
Tbilisi State Medical University · 2005
MD — Medicine
Tbilisi State Medical University · 2001
Clinical Researcher
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) · Harvard Medical School · 2018
Board certifications & clinical training
Adult Psychiatry — State Certification
Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia · 2005
Forensic Psychiatry — State Certification
Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia · 2005
Medical Doctor of General Practice — State Certification
Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia · 2001
SAFER HAM-D Certificate
2019
Clinical Research Evaluator Training
2018
ICH-GCP Certification
2017
Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
2020
Biostatistics: Core Methods & Analysis
2016
rTMS Course
2014
EMDR Training
2015
PET · mTBI · Combat & Operational Stress · Psychological Resilience
2015
Suicide Risk Assessment & Management
2016
ECNP School: Late-Life Neuropsychopharmacology
2015
ECNP Clinical Research Methods Workshop
2017
Internship
2009
Maudsley Forum
2006
Cornell University Seminar
2005
Psychosomatic Medicine: Science & Practice
2019
Leadership & Professional Skills Development
2019
Warrior Care in the 21st Century
2020
Strategic experience & leadership
Founder & Director
Guga Sikharulidze Mental Health Research Center (GSMRC) · 2024–present
Full Professor
Georgian American University (GAU) · 2019–present
Professor
International University Alterbridge · 2021–present
NATO Expert
Science for Peace and Security Programme · 2018–present
Head, Dept. of Psychological Selection & Monitoring
Georgian Armed Forces, General Staff · 2014–2017
Author & Founder
Military Mental Health Services Programme, MoD Georgia · 2013–2017
Co-Founder & Senior Psychiatrist
Mental Health Center "Mentalvita" · 2009–2014
Forensic Psychiatric Expert
M. Asatiani National Institute of Psychiatry · 2006–2007
Invited Lecturer
GAU · 2017–2019
Assistant Professor
Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Medicine · 2012–2016
Teaching Assistant
Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University · 2009–2012
Researcher / Rater
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) · 2018–present
Founder & CEO
Stress Management and Mental Health Center · 2017–2024
Psychiatrist
Mental Health Clinic Sonocurmed · 2007–2009
Researcher
M. Asatiani National Institute of Psychiatry · 2005–2012
Research & publications
International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM), 11(06), 863–876 · 2023 · DOI: 10.18535/ijsrm/v11i06.mp2
Current Psychiatry Research and Reviews, 18(3), 236–247 · 2022 · DOI: 10.2174/2666082218666220713122430
Georgian Medical News, (275), 98–105 · 2018 · PMID: 29578434
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30(6), 626–634 · 2017 · DOI: 10.1002/jts.22235
Digital Tools for Prevention, Mitigation, and Treatment of Traumatic Stress Responses in Terror and War (book chapter)
NATO Science for Peace and Security Series — E · 2025
Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress (Vol. 148, pp. 130–135), NATO SPS Series — E, IOS Press · 2020 · DOI: 10.3233/NHSDP200022
European Psychiatry, 41, 723–724 (abstract) · 2017 · DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1312
Predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Personnel Deployed to Peacekeeping Missions
European Psychiatry, 41, 724 (abstract) · 2017 · DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.1313
Pain Perception among Depressed Heroin-Addicted Patients
Georgian Medical News, (187), 43–47 · 2010 · PMID: 21098892
Conferences & invited talks
16th International Congress on Psychopharmacology & Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology
Antalya, Turkey · 2025
NATO Advanced Research Workshop
Tbilisi, Georgia · 2024
Warrior Care in the 21st Century
International Webinar · 2020
NATO Advanced Research Workshop "Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress"
Odessa, Ukraine · 2018
East European Young Psychiatrists Congress
Minsk, Belarus · 2018
30th ECNP Congress
Paris, France · 2017
25th EPA Congress (European Psychiatric Association)
Florence, Italy · 2017
29th ECNP Congress
Vienna, Austria · 2016
28th ECNP Congress
Amsterdam, Netherlands · 2015
XVI World Congress of Psychiatry (WPA)
Madrid, Spain · 2014
21st World Congress of Social Psychiatry (WASP)
Lisbon, Portugal · 2013
Congress: "DSM-5 and the Future of Psychiatric Diagnosis"
King's College London · 2013
11th World Congress, World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Milan · 2012
Berlin Summer School of Psychiatry
Berlin, Germany · 2012
18th European Congress of Psychiatry
Munich, Germany · 2010
WPA International Congress
Florence, Italy · 2009
Professional memberships
- ESTSS