Addiction specialist in Latvia
No referral, no co-payment, where to go
- Certification check: State register of medical practitioners (opens in a new window)
- Service description: National Centre for Mental Health (opens in a new window)
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An addiction medicine specialist helps people who want to cut down or stop drinking alcohol or using other substances. The conversation is judgement-free, and the doctor discusses realistic, achievable steps.
The consultation happens over video, so it works the same in Riga, Daugavpils, Liepāja, Jelgava, Jūrmala, Ventspils and Rēzekne – from Riga to the smallest rural parish. It does not matter whether you live in the capital or in a remote rural municipality – distance no longer decides how quickly you can see a doctor.
No verified doctor in this specialty yet
We check every certificate by hand, so the list grows step by step. Choose another specialty or start with a family doctor.
Other addiction medicine specialists in Latvia
These doctors have not confirmed their profile yet, so they cannot be booked for now.
- Laila Atiķe
- Artjoms Baharevs
- Linda Brūdere
- Lilita Caune
- Viktorija Demenčuka
- Mārtiņš Ennītis
Known addiction specialists in Latvia
- Aivars Skaida
- Dmitrijs Kolobovs
- Kristaps Kurzemnieks
- Maija Jēkabsone
- Tamāra Sinicina
This list is partial. Addiction medicine is a small specialty in Latvia, and much of the care sits within the Addiction Care Service of the National Centre for Mental Health. Any individual doctor's certificate can be checked in the state register (opens in a new window).
When to call 113 instead of booking
- Altered consciousness, or someone who cannot be woken.
- Seizures.
- Breathing difficulty or blue-tinged lips.
- Confusion, hallucinations or severe agitation.
- Vomiting blood.
- Suspected overdose or poisoning.
- Rapidly worsening tremor, sweating and palpitations after stopping use.
- Someone putting their own life or another person's at risk.
The National Centre for Mental Health states that emergency psychiatric care in Rīga is available at Tvaika iela 2, building U, around the clock including weekends and public holidays, and that similar admission points operate in Jelgava, Strenči, Daugavpils and Liepāja.
What an addiction specialist treats
An addiction specialist, also called an addiction psychiatrist, diagnoses and treats addictive disorders. Outpatient care covers consultations, diagnosis, treatment planning and treatment without hospital admission.
- Alcohol dependence and harmful use
- Dependence on narcotic and psychotropic substances
- Dependence on toxic substances
- Tobacco dependence
- Gambling addiction
- Addiction related to new technologies
The National Centre for Mental Health states that outpatient addiction care includes consultations not only for the patient but, where needed, for their relatives and people affected by co-dependence, along with support group work and recovery programmes.
Treatment programmes
- Programme
- Outpatient treatment
- What it involves
- Consultations, diagnosis, treatment plan, support groups, recovery programmes
- How to access it
- No referral; book directly
- Programme
- Acute unit with intensive care
- What it involves
- Treatment of alcohol psychosis, severe withdrawal, acute intoxication and psychotic disorders. Course lasts 1 to 14 days
- How to access it
- Through the admissions department. Phone 68617655
- Programme
- Minnesota 28-day programme
- What it involves
- Inpatient psychotherapeutic programme for alcohol, drug or gambling addiction, delivered by addiction doctors, psychotherapists and psychologists
- How to access it
- Requires a referral from an addiction specialist. Applications on 67080210
- Programme
- Long-term methadone pharmacotherapy
- What it involves
- Substitution therapy for opioid dependence
- How to access it
- State-funded. Clinics at Tvaika iela 2 and Viļa Plūdoņa iela 1
- Programme
- Long-term buprenorphine pharmacotherapy
- What it involves
- Substitution therapy for opioid dependence
- How to access it
- Paid service
| Programme | What it involves | How to access it |
|---|---|---|
| Outpatient treatment | Consultations, diagnosis, treatment plan, support groups, recovery programmes | No referral; book directly |
| Acute unit with intensive care | Treatment of alcohol psychosis, severe withdrawal, acute intoxication and psychotic disorders. Course lasts 1 to 14 days | Through the admissions department. Phone 68617655 |
| Minnesota 28-day programme | Inpatient psychotherapeutic programme for alcohol, drug or gambling addiction, delivered by addiction doctors, psychotherapists and psychologists | Requires a referral from an addiction specialist. Applications on 67080210 |
| Long-term methadone pharmacotherapy | Substitution therapy for opioid dependence | State-funded. Clinics at Tvaika iela 2 and Viļa Plūdoņa iela 1 |
| Long-term buprenorphine pharmacotherapy | Substitution therapy for opioid dependence | Paid service |
Entry conditions for the Minnesota programme: the National Centre for Mental Health states that at least one week without use is required, along with a referral from an outpatient addiction specialist and a family doctor's certificate of general health.
The Minnesota 12-step programme was introduced in Latvia in 1990, after three addiction doctors trained at a clinic in the United States.
Glossary
- Direct-access specialist
- a doctor you can see without a family doctor referral.
- Co-dependence
- the state in which someone close to a person with addiction loses their own balance; help is available to them too.
- Detoxification
- inpatient treatment of acute intoxication and withdrawal.
- Minnesota programme
- a 28-day inpatient psychotherapeutic programme based on the 12-step approach.
- Substitution therapy
- long-term pharmacotherapy for opioid dependence.
- Support groups
- AA, NA and family support groups operating outside healthcare institutions.
- Ongoing monitoring
- regular follow-up appointments after a course of treatment.
- ANPREN
- the department assessing intoxication by alcohol, narcotic and psychotropic substances.
How someone becomes an addiction specialist in Latvia
- Six years of medical study and a doctor's degree, at Rīga Stradiņš University (opens in a new window) or the University of Latvia.
- Residency in addiction medicine. Programme page: RSU residency programme (opens in a new window).
- The certificate is valid for 5 years. Recertification requires 250 continuing education points plus a 48.38 EUR fee.
- Entry in the practitioners register must be renewed every 5 years.
How to verify this doctor's certificate
- 1Open Health Inspectorate – register of medical practitioners (registri.vi.gov.lv) (opens in a new window).
- 2Enter the surname or practitioner identifier in the search box.
- 3Confirm the listed specialty reads "Narkologs". Some doctors also hold psychiatry in the register.
- 4Check the certificate validity date.
- 5If a provider offers treatment for a fee, check whether it holds a contract with the National Health Service, in which case treatment may be free.
Where this specialist practises, by city
Rīga
- Addiction Care Service, National Centre for Mental Health (opens in a new window)
outpatient department and inpatient unit, Tvaika iela 2.
Outpatient addiction specialist at the "Pārdaugava" centre, Viļa Plūdoņa iela 1.
Outpatient addiction specialist at the "Pārdaugava" centre, Viļa Plūdoņa iela 1.
- Akrona 12 (opens in a new window)
Vecmīlgrāvja 5. līnija 26, phone 67586524, offering the Minnesota 12-step programme in a day hospital.
Jelgava
- Ģintermuiža Hospital (opens in a new window)
Filozofu iela 69, phones 63007495, 63022770 and 26164021, offering the Minnesota programme.
Daugavpils
Daugavpils Regional Hospital, Viestura iela 5, inpatient addiction ward, phone 65438069.
Daugavpils Regional Hospital, Viestura iela 5, inpatient addiction ward, phone 65438069.
The National Centre for Mental Health states that consultations are provided regardless of where the person lives.
Confidentiality
The National Centre for Mental Health states that confidentiality is maintained in both outpatient and inpatient treatment, and that information about the course of treatment and medical history is not given to third parties, except in cases set out in the Patients' Rights Law and on the basis of the Medical Treatment Law and personal data protection rules.
Separately from treatment, certificates, addiction specialist opinions and early health assessment commission conclusions for drivers and firearms holders can be obtained at Tvaika iela 2 for a fee. These are separate services, not part of treatment.
What a visit looks like
- The consultation assesses general health, takes the history and symptoms, identifies the condition and establishes a diagnosis.
- The most suitable treatment method is then chosen, with further appointments, ongoing or preventive monitoring, and psychologist sessions arranged as needed.
- The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control states that no referral is required, but an e-referral from the family doctor is desirable, since it helps assess how urgently the consultation is needed.
- A relative can attend too, since consultations are available to people affected by co-dependence.
- If the Minnesota programme is planned, a consultation with the programme's specialists, by phone or in person, is required before treatment starts.
Cost
The National Centre for Mental Health states that since 1 January 2025, people being treated for dependence on alcohol, narcotic, psychotropic or toxic substances do not pay the four euro outpatient co-payment or the seven euro per day inpatient co-payment.
- Service
- Outpatient addiction consultation
- Price
- 0.00 EUR (National Centre of Mental Health (opens in a new window), price list checked 8 August 2026)
- Service
- Inpatient treatment, including the Minnesota programme
- Price
- 0.00 EUR (NPVC, price list checked 8 August 2026)
- Service
- Long-term methadone pharmacotherapy
- Price
- state-funded
- Service
- Long-term buprenorphine pharmacotherapy
- Price
- paid service
- Service
- Certificates and opinions for drivers and firearms holders
- Price
- paid service
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Outpatient addiction consultation | 0.00 EUR (National Centre of Mental Health (opens in a new window), price list checked 8 August 2026) |
| Inpatient treatment, including the Minnesota programme | 0.00 EUR (NPVC, price list checked 8 August 2026) |
| Long-term methadone pharmacotherapy | state-funded |
| Long-term buprenorphine pharmacotherapy | paid service |
| Certificates and opinions for drivers and firearms holders | paid service |
Ģintermuiža Hospital states that until 31 December 2024 the patient co-payment for the Minnesota programme was 7.00 EUR per bed day, amounting to 196.00 EUR for the 28-day programme, and that from 1 January 2025 patients with addiction are exempt from the co-payment.
Oversight
The field is also represented by the Latvian Psychiatric Association, registration number 40008172347.
Certificates are issued by the Certification Council of the Latvian Medical Association (opens in a new window). The sector regulator is the Health Inspectorate, while addiction prevention nationally is coordinated by the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Patient rights and complaints
If you have doubts about the quality of care, raise them first with the provider's management. If that does not resolve it, a written submission goes to the Health Inspectorate no later than two years after the alleged infringement, and is reviewed within 30 days, extendable to four months in complex cases. The procedure is set out on the Health Inspectorate site (opens in a new window).
FAQ
Do I need a referral to see an addiction specialist?
No. They are direct-access doctors. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control notes that an e-referral from a family doctor is still desirable, since it helps assess urgency.
What does treatment cost?
Since 1 January 2025 people with addiction are exempt from the patient co-payment, both as outpatients and in hospital.
Will my employer or family find out?
The National Centre for Mental Health states that confidentiality is maintained and that information is not given to third parties except in cases set out in law.
Can I get help if the person with the addiction is a relative?
Yes. Outpatient addiction care includes consultations for relatives and for people affected by co-dependence.
How do I get into the Minnesota programme?
You need a referral from an addiction specialist, at least one week without use, and a family doctor's certificate of general health.
This page was reviewed by Sergejs Ponomarjovs, from the E-Medicīna team. More about us.
Sources, last review and corrections
Last reviewed: 8 August 2026
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