Mental health navigation is harder for a gay or bisexual man in Georgia than the clinical picture alone would suggest. Services are concentrated in Tbilisi, stigma around both sexuality and mental illness runs deep, and a 2024 law targeting LGBT life has made openly affirming care harder to find and, for some, riskier to seek. The move that works is to go straight to the services that are already LGBT-aware — mainly the community NGOs — rather than hoping a general clinic is a safe space. This page is that shortlist.
📞 Crisis Support
If you are in immediate danger or thinking about ending your life, reach out now. For a medical emergency, call 112.
| Service | Contact | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency services | 112 | 24/7, all services. The route in an acute crisis or after an overdose. |
| Equality Movement — psychologist | Ia Kargareteli Street #2, Tbilisi · 032 247 97 48 | Free, confidential psychological support in a gay-affirming setting. The first call to make. |
| Georgian Association for Mental Health (GAMH) | 10 Asatiani Street, Tbilisi · gamh.org.ge | Long-standing mental health NGO; counselling and psychosocial support. |
If English is easier for you than Georgian, say so when you call Equality Movement — they work with international clients and can arrange support accordingly. Do not wait for a "perfect" service: in an acute crisis, 112 is always the right call.
🏳️🌈 LGBT-Aware Support
The organisations built for gay and bi men are your safest starting point, because they combine mental-health support with an understanding of what you're actually dealing with — stigma, disclosure, sometimes family or workplace pressure.
- Equality Movement — free psychologist, plus lawyer and social-worker support, all in one gay-affirming place. Resource centres in Tbilisi, Zugdidi and Telavi.
- Tanadgoma — counselling and referral through community centres in Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi and Telavi.
- AIDS Center social workers — attached to HIV care, used to the emotional side of a new diagnosis.
🧠 Therapy Through the System
Private psychology and psychiatry are available in Tbilisi and the larger cities, and are affordable relative to Western Europe, but the hard part is not cost — it is finding a therapist who is genuinely affirming, in a climate where many are not open about it. Do not pick a clinic blind. Start with the LGBT-aware services above and ask them for a referral to a provider they trust. The general guide on finding an affirming therapist, linked below, gives you questions to screen someone before you commit.
💙 Specific Situations
- After an HIV diagnosis: the weight is often heaviest in the first weeks. Equality Movement's psychologist and the AIDS Center's social workers exist for exactly this — the HIV guide below covers the peer and social support around a diagnosis.
- Chemsex and substance use: if drug use is tangled up with your mental health, the chemsex guide below covers the harm-reduction and counselling routes that pair with mental-health care.
Related: