Leader on medical team retires from Betty Ford Center

Harry Haroutunian, MD, who has served in a variety of physician leadership roles at the Betty Ford Center over the past decade, has announced his retirement from the center's medical staff.

Haroutunian, known by colleagues as “Dr. Harry,” had worked in family practice in Vermont before visiting the Betty Ford Center to combat an alcohol problem. He told the publication Palm Springs Life in an interview earlier this year, “I just fell in love with the practice of addiction medicine and the Betty Ford Center and the folks out here and decided it was time to shift gears.”

Among Haroutunian's writings are Hijacking the Brain: How Drug and Alcohol Addiction Hijacks Our Brains – The Science Behind Twelve-Step Recovery (co-authored with Louis Teresi, MD) and Being Sober: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting To, Getting Through and Living in Recovery. Haroutunian and Teresi explained in a 2012 interview with Addiction Professional that participation in 12-Step programs results in brain changes that counteract the stress that can contribute to relapse.