ADHD Care and Diagnosis in Sweden
This post is being updated actively. Now it is not complete. Check it by November 2nd for more information.
ADHD Diagnosis
Recently, many poeple have asked me about the procedure of investigating for an ADHD diagnosis for residents of Sweden (Swedish citizens, legal residents with a personnummer and state healthcare insurance). I have decided to write a post about it to help people who are looking for this information. I will try to keep this post updated as much as possible.
Currently there is an overwhemling amount of patients on waiting lists in Sweden who are awaiting the initial appointment for ADHD diagnosis. This is especially true and worse for bigger cities of Sweden (e.g., Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö). The waiting time for the initial appointment can be up to 2 years. This is a very long time to wait for a diagnosis, especially for adults who have been struggling with ADHD symptoms for a long time. But nevertheless, I have summarized the best two ways to get an ADHD diagnosis when living in Sweden as an independent adult.
Beware that for all the ways below, you need to have a personal number (personnummer) and BankID already active.
Diagnosis in Sweden
1. Get a Referral from General Practitioner for a Psychiatrist
First you need to be registered with one of the primary care centers called “Vårdcentral” in Swedish. You can find the closest one to you by searching for “Vårdcentral” in Google Maps. You can also ask your friends or colleagues for recommendations. My personal suggestion is that you use Kry so that you can get appointment with a doctor in a video call right away.
Once you have registered with a Vårdcentral, you need to book an appointment with a doctor. You can do this by calling them or by using the online booking system through 1177, or in case you registered for Kry, then you can do it easily on the app.
2. Book Appointment with the Psychiatrist
You should be referred to one of the ADHD clinics in your region (ADHD Mottaagning). In Swedish this is called a Remiss.
You can find a list of ADHD clinics here.
Then by the means of your referral, the clinic has to call you during the week after the referral. If they did not contact you, please contact them yourself and tell them about your remiss. Then depending on their availability, they set an appointment with you within up to three months. This appointment is called Utredning which is the initial investigation for ADHD diagnosis.
Read this page thoroughly before attempting my solutions: ADHD Utredning
3. Attend the Initial Appointment
Before this appointment, create a digital note on your phone and list all the matters that trouble you, for which you thought you might have ADHD. This is very important because you might forget to mention some of them during the appointment. Also, you can use this note to show the doctor that you have been struggling with these issues for a long time.
After you attend the first investigation appointment, the doctor will decide whether you need to be investigated further or not. If you need to be investigated further, then you will be put on a waiting list for the next appointment. This waiting time can be up to 2 years. But if you are lucky, you might get an appointment within a few months.
4. The Routine Starts
After that you will have the consequitive appointments to get further with the treatment. During this time, inform yourself about ADHD by reading verified information by the official healthcare system in Sweden and other countries. Here is a list of resources that I recommend:
Already Have Diagnosis from Another Country
If you already have diagnosis from another country then you can skip the long waiting list and directly start (continue) your treatment in Sweden. To start with that you need to tell your GP that you have a diagnosis in step 1 and when you have the first appointment with the psychiatrist, you need to bring your diagnosis with you. Then the psychiatrist will directly set the treatment appointments within the upcoming month and you can start your treatment right away.
Danish Diagnosis (Shortcut)
Compared to Sweden, the waiting time for ADHD diagnosis in Denmark is lightning faster than in Sweden. You could basically get your diagnosis in Denmark instead and followup with your treatment in Sweden.
The practical information about this will be updated by next week.
My Personal Experience
On the day of writing this post, the public health care system in Sweden is overwhelmed and is heavily understaffed in terms of specialists and nurses.
bad quality no psychotherapy no behavioural therapy no psychologist available only group therapies available