Addiction, Treatment and Recovery

Dr. Garrett O’Connor has been appointed Medical Director of the Professional Recovery Program at the Betty Ford Center, the nation’s leading addiction treatment hospital.

The announcement was made in Rancho Mirage, CA., by John Schwarzlose, the Center’s president and CEO.

Garrett O’Connor, M.D. is certified in General and Addiction Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and in Addiction Medicine by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as Consulting Psychiatrist for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Dr. O’Connor is a nationally-recognized expert in the clinical assessment of fitness-for-duty for persons occupying safety-sensitive positions (such as pilots, medical doctors and lawyers) and serves as Consulting Psychiatrist for most major U.S. airlines.

According to John Schwarzlose, “Dr. O’Connor is one of addiction medicine’s most highly-respected authorities, and we’re honored that he’s joined us. He brings wide knowledge and vast experience in the field of addiction treatment, and he’s a perfect fit for our Professional Recovery Program.”

Dr. Garrett O’Connor was born in Ireland and moved to the U.S. in 1960. He was trained at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and subsequently served there as Associate Professor of Psychiatry, as well as director of the Psychiatric Emergency Service and the Johns Hopkins Drug Abuse Center. He and his wife (noted actress Fionnula Flanagan) moved to California 30 years ago.

Dr. O’Connor is Past President of the California Society of Addiction Medicine. He is a former national board member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

The non-profit Betty Ford Center has served more than 60,000 patients and family members since it was founded by former First Lady Betty Ford and Ambassador Leonard Firestone in 1982. The Professional Recovery Program (PRP) is designed for individuals who need structured, and often longer-term primary care, for their addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs. For more information on the Center’s Professional Recovery Program, or other programs at the Betty Ford Center, please call (800) 854-9211.

Related posts:

1. New Betty Ford Center Book Salutes Women in Recovery
2. Women’s Addiction Conferences to Explore Relationships and Recovery

One Response to “The Betty Ford Center Appoints Garrett O’Connor Medical Director of Professional Recovery Program”

1. Aidan O. says:

   January 11, 2011 at 5:37 pm

   I am really pleased that Dr Garrett O’Connor was honoured by the National University of Ireland (UCD). His exploration of Irish Catholic ’self-misperception of cultural and personal inferiority’ is a huge contribution to the study of the ‘colonial mind’ and deserves further investigation. I am pleased, too, that my colleagues in RTÉ have recorded him on the subject and I hope his contribution will encourage more people to explore this difficult but worthwhile study.