Giorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze
MD, PhD — Psychiatrist · Professor · Clinical Researcher
Giorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze
Medically reviewed byGiorgi (Guga) Sikharulidze · MD, PhD — Psychiatrist · Professor · Clinical Researcher· Last updated: September 22, 2026
Psychiatrist and Doctor of Public Health, with more than two decades in clinical practice and academic teaching since 2009. His doctorate, awarded by Tbilisi State Medical University in 2018, examined post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbidity under a mediation model in public health management; he is currently completing doctoral research at the Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center.
His research addresses comorbidity and mediating mechanisms in trauma- and stressor-related disorders — first in Georgian military personnel, later in COVID-19 patients — and extends to obsessive phenomena and their association with other mental disorders. He is the author or co-author of more than 30 scientific works, including 12 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and first author on six of them, among these a paper in the Journal of Traumatic Stress and chapters in two volumes of the NATO Science for Peace and Security series.
He is a certified rater for the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical Trials Network and Institute (MGH CTNI) on multicentre trials in depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and has served on the NATO SPS expert group on terrorism-induced stress since 2018.
He founded and directs the Guga Sikharulidze Mental Health Research Center (GSMRC) and its Academy, heads the psychiatry residency programme at the Georgian-American University (GAU), where he is Full Professor, and leads GSMRC's accredited continuing medical education programmes in integrated mental health care for cardiologists, paediatricians, internists and family physicians. He authored the programme that established modern military mental health services in the Georgian Armed Forces and was its founding head.
Since 2026 he has been co-founder and director of IDN Technologies, working on the integration of software and artificial intelligence into medical services and clinical practice. He founded the club Experts for Mental Health and is the author of the psychoeducation podcasts When the Clinic Closes and A Hundred Questions for a Psychiatrist.
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
Founder & Head of Scientific and Educational Programmes
GSMRC Academy · 2026–present
Co-founder & Director
IDN Technologies · 2026–present
Head of Continuing Medical Education (CME) Programmes
Mental Health Research Center (GSMRC) · 2026–present
Full Professor
Georgian American University (GAU) · 2019–present
Head of the Psychiatry Residency Programme
Georgian American University (GAU), School of Medicine · 2025–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, 11(6), 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 · PMID: 29193294 · DOI: 10.1002/jts.22235
Predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder in military personnel deployed to peacekeeping missions
Georgian Medical News, (253), 89–94 · 2016 · PMID: 27249442
Prevalence study of mental disorders in Georgian military personnel participating in peace-keeping missions
Education Sciences and Psychology, 2(39) · 2016
Evaluation of clinical efficiency of quetiapine during schizophrenia, schizoaffective, delusional and affective disorder treatment
The News of Georgian Psychiatry, 7, 42–45 · 2010
Pain perception among depressed heroin-addicted patients
Georgian Medical News, (187), 43–47 · 2010 · PMID: 21098892
Increased risk of suicide in patients with agitated depression
Georgian Medical News, (177), 47–51 · 2009 · PMID: 20090153
Attentional disorder in vascular dementia
Georgian Medical News, (135), 91–95 · 2006 · PMID: 16905820
Digital Innovations for the Prevention and Treatment of PTSD in Military Contexts. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series E, vol. 162, IOS Press · 2026 · DOI: 10.3233/nhsdp250096
Risk Management of Terrorism Induced Stress. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series E, vol. 148, IOS Press, 130–135 · 2020 · DOI: 10.3233/NHSDP200022
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