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Quick answer: UKAAN is a UK focused professional network for mental health specialists working in adult ADHD. Global ADHD Network is a CPD certified, international training provider offering flexible, practical ADHD diagnosis and management courses for clinicians, therapists, and educators. Both have value. For most healthcare professionals who want accessible, CPD certified, career ready ADHD training, Global ADHD Network is the stronger choice.
Anyone researching adult ADHD education in the UK quickly comes across UKAAN, the UK Adult ADHD Network. It is a long standing professional network with a strong name in the specialist adult ADHD community. If you are exploring ADHD training, it is natural to ask what UKAAN offers, how it compares to newer providers, and whether it is the best fit for your career.
This guide gives a fair, detailed comparison of UKAAN and Global ADHD Network. We look at structure, courses, certification, accessibility, audience, and value for money. By the end you will have a clear view of what each organisation offers, where UKAAN fits, and why a growing number of clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, and therapists are choosing Global ADHD Network for their ADHD training.
Now I have the key Global ADHD Network USPs: CPD Certified, international reach, 1150+ five star testimonials, wide course range (diagnosis, management, parenting, classroom, women, autism), remote delivery, and pricing from £795. Here's the comparison blog.
Quick answer: UKAAN is a UK focused professional network for mental health specialists working in adult ADHD. Global ADHD Network is a CPD certified, international training provider offering flexible, practical ADHD diagnosis and management courses for clinicians, therapists, and educators. Both have value. For most healthcare professionals who want accessible, CPD certified, career ready ADHD training, Global ADHD Network is the stronger choice.
Anyone researching adult ADHD education in the UK quickly comes across UKAAN, the UK Adult ADHD Network. It is a long standing professional network with a strong name in the specialist adult ADHD community. If you are exploring ADHD training, it is natural to ask what UKAAN offers, how it compares to newer providers, and whether it is the best fit for your career.
This guide gives a fair, detailed comparison of UKAAN and Global ADHD Network. We look at structure, courses, certification, accessibility, audience, and value for money. By the end you will have a clear view of what each organisation offers, where UKAAN fits, and why a growing number of clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, and therapists are choosing Global ADHD Network for their ADHD training.
UKAAN, which stands for the UK Adult ADHD Network, is a professional network founded in March 2009 to provide education, research, and training for mental health professionals working with adults who have ADHD. It was created in response to the 2008 NICE guideline on ADHD and the British Association for Psychopharmacology guidance on pharmacological management, which together formally established the need to diagnose and treat ADHD in adults.
UKAAN operates through an executive committee, a training subcommittee, regional leads, and an advisory board. Its focus is on UK mental health specialists, particularly psychiatrists, and its training tends to suit clinicians already embedded in specialist adult ADHD services. It plays an important role in shaping clinical conversation at the senior end of the field.
Global ADHD Network is an independent, international ADHD training and professional development community for clinicians, educators, therapists, parents, and organisations. It delivers CPD certified ADHD courses in diagnosis, prescribing and management, autism awareness, classroom practice, parenting, co-occurring autism and ADHD, ADHD in women, and ADHD business mastery.
The network is built around accessibility and practical career value. Courses are delivered fully online, led by experienced ADHD clinicians, and include live interactive sessions, DIVA-5 training, mock assessments, and real world case discussions. Global ADHD Network holds more than 1,150 five star testimonials from clinicians including psychiatrists, GPs, nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, and therapists.
In short, UKAAN is a specialist professional network. Global ADHD Network is a practical, certified training provider built for a wider international professional audience.
UKAAN training focuses on adult ADHD assessment, pharmacological treatment, comorbidities, and service design. It is typically delivered by clinicians active in NHS adult ADHD services. The network runs a periodic conference, which is well regarded in the specialist community, and provides member resources including papers and a video library.
The training is strong at what it does, but the scope is narrow. It focuses almost exclusively on adult ADHD in a UK NHS context, aimed at specialist mental health professionals. Clinicians outside psychiatry, and those working in education, coaching, or international private practice, often find UKAAN less directly relevant to their day to day work.
Global ADHD Network covers a much broader ADHD curriculum. The core clinical courses are the ADHD Assessor Training course and the ADHD Prescribing and Management course. Around these sit specialist courses including Autism Awareness Training, ADHD in Women, Co-Occurring Autism and ADHD, ADHD in the Classroom, Parenting in ADHD, and ADHD Business Mastery.
The clinical training aligns with NICE NG87 and covers DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, DIVA-5 structured assessment, stimulant and non stimulant medication management, side effect monitoring, CBT and coaching strategies, and case based practical application. You can see the full course list on the Global ADHD Network courses page.
Verdict: UKAAN is specialist and narrow. Global ADHD Network is specialist and broad, with practical courses that serve clinicians across the full ADHD pathway and wider professionals who need evidence based ADHD training.
UKAAN training gives professional exposure and clinical learning. It is a recognised name in UK adult ADHD psychiatry. However, it is not positioned as a formal CPD certified qualification designed for insurance validation or direct use in private ADHD assessor roles.
Every Global ADHD Network clinical course is fully CPD certified. Course participants receive a recognised CPD certificate that:
For clinicians building a career in ADHD, this is a significant practical difference. CPD certification is widely accepted across UK and international healthcare, and it gives a clear evidence trail for employers, insurers, and regulators.
Verdict: For professionals whose priority is a recognised, insurance validated qualification that opens career doors in ADHD, Global ADHD Network provides a clearer and more practical certification pathway.
UKAAN is built around UK based adult ADHD specialists, most often consultant psychiatrists and senior mental health clinicians embedded in NHS services. Its content and community reflect that audience, which is useful if you already sit within that specialism.
Global ADHD Network is deliberately broader. Its courses are open to all healthcare professionals, including:
This breadth reflects the reality of modern ADHD care. NICE NG87 allows diagnosis by suitably qualified practitioners beyond psychiatrists, and the UK ADHD waiting list crisis has driven demand for assessment and prescribing roles across multiple professions. Global ADHD Network is structured around that reality.
Verdict: If you are a specialist UK adult ADHD psychiatrist, UKAAN fits your world closely. If you are any other type of professional wanting to build real ADHD expertise, Global ADHD Network is far more accessible.
UKAAN events typically involve in person or scheduled training sessions, with conference attendance being a central part of the offer. For clinicians with busy rotas, caring responsibilities, or international commitments, this can be restrictive.
Global ADHD Network is fully online. Courses run as live, interactive, full day sessions on Microsoft Teams. Participants engage in live teaching, breakout discussions, mock DIVA-5 assessments, and Q and A sessions. Recordings and resources are provided afterwards, which is particularly useful for revision and ongoing reference.
Flexibility is a real differentiator here. If you are a GP in Scotland, a pharmacist in Manchester, or a psychologist in Dubai, you can attend a Global ADHD Network course from wherever you are. UKAAN is built around UK in person infrastructure.
Verdict: Global ADHD Network wins clearly on accessibility and modern delivery.
UKAAN pricing varies by event and membership status. Specialist conferences and training sessions can be priced at the higher end of the professional CPD market.
Global ADHD Network publishes clear pricing:
Both include full day live training, a CPD certificate, course resources, mock assessments, and access to the wider professional community. Given that qualified ADHD assessors in private practice can charge up to £1,500 per assessment, the training typically pays for itself within one or two cases for clinicians building private ADHD work.
Verdict: Global ADHD Network offers transparent pricing and strong return on investment, especially for clinicians adding ADHD assessor or prescribing work to their practice.
UKAAN is, by name and design, a UK focused network. If your career is grounded in the UK NHS specialist ADHD community, that focus is a strength. If you practise internationally, or you support clients across borders, it is a clear limitation.
Global ADHD Network is international by design. Its course alumni span the UK, Ireland, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, and North America, and its content is built to be usable across healthcare systems. NICE NG87 and DSM-5 are the primary clinical anchors, both of which are recognised globally. You can browse the Global ADHD Network resource library for a flavour of the clinical range.
Verdict: For international clinicians, only Global ADHD Network delivers relevant and applicable training at scale.
UKAAN has a respected place in UK adult ADHD psychiatry, and that should not be dismissed. However, for most clinicians, therapists, and educators evaluating where to invest their CPD time and budget, Global ADHD Network is the stronger option. The reasons are practical and consistent.
Broader course range. Diagnosis, management, women, autism, parenting, classroom, and business. UKAAN is narrower in scope.
CPD certification that counts. Every clinical course is CPD certified with an insurance ready certificate. This is the currency that actually supports career moves.
Wider eligibility. Open to GPs, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, therapists, and other professionals, not only psychiatrists.
Online, flexible delivery. Live and interactive, with recordings. Train from anywhere.
NICE NG87 aligned and DIVA-5 trained. Practical skills rather than abstract theory.
1,150 plus five star testimonials. A large, recent, verifiable evidence base from working clinicians.
International relevance. Useful whether you work in the NHS, UK private practice, or abroad.
Clear pricing and strong return on investment. Transparent course fees with a realistic route to recovering costs through ADHD practice.
Alignment with the UK ADHD waiting list crisis. NHS waits of two to three years mean more suitably qualified practitioners are needed now. Global ADHD Network is structured to meet that need.
The short version: UKAAN is a specialist network. Global ADHD Network is a practical career accelerator for anyone building real expertise in ADHD.
Neither is universally better. UKAAN has a respected name in UK adult ADHD psychiatry. Global ADHD Network offers a broader, CPD certified, internationally accessible course range that fits more professionals. For most clinicians building ADHD expertise, Global ADHD Network is the more practical choice.
Yes. All clinical courses are fully CPD certified. Certificates can be submitted to insurance providers as evidence of ADHD diagnostic or prescribing competence.
UKAAN provides professional training and conferences. Its offer is built around its specialist network rather than around CPD certification as a primary feature.
Yes. Courses are open to GPs, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, prescribing pharmacists, psychologists, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, advanced nurse practitioners, educators, and other suitably qualified professionals.
Yes, at a specialist adult ADHD psychiatry level. Global ADHD Network covers both diagnosis and prescribing in dedicated CPD certified courses that align with NICE NG87 and use DIVA-5.
Global ADHD Network is typically the stronger choice. Its CPD certificates and practical training are specifically designed to support private practice, including insurance validation and realistic return on investment.
The core clinical assessor and prescribing courses focus on adult ADHD, with DSM-5 and DIVA-5. However, the wider course range covers ADHD in the classroom and parenting in ADHD, which are directly relevant to children and young people.
UKAAN has played an important role in shaping UK adult ADHD psychiatry since 2009. If you are a consultant psychiatrist embedded in specialist NHS adult ADHD services, it remains a useful professional reference point.
For almost everyone else, and certainly for the fast growing group of clinicians, therapists, and educators responding to the UK and global demand for ADHD expertise, Global ADHD Network offers a more accessible, more flexible, and more career relevant training pathway. Its CPD certified courses, international reach, broad curriculum, and clear career outcomes make it the stronger choice in 2026.
If you are ready to take the next step, browse the full ADHD course list, review the 1,150 plus five star clinician testimonials, or start with the CPD certified ADHD Assessor Training course.
