Dr. Joseph A. Pursch Biography  Go to Dr. Pursch's Story

Psychiatrist Joseph A. Pursch, M.D., has been treating and rehabilitating individuals addicted to alcohol, drugs or addictive behaviors since 1962. A graduate of the University of Indiana School of Medicine and Board Certified in Neuropsychiatry, he is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Military Career

• 1960 – 1963
  Navy Flight Surgeon aboard aircraft carrier USS Forrestal
• 1963 – 1966
  Psychiatric Residency at Bethsda Naval Hospital; also personal physician to the Secretary of the Navy, Paul Nitze, during Kennedy/Johnson Administration
• 1966 – 1968
  Assistant Chief of Psychiatry, Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, and Special Board of Flight Surgeons; Chief of Psychiatry, US Naval Hospital Pensacola, Florida
• 1968 – 1970
  Chief, Neuropsychiatry Outpatient Clinic, Naval Dispensary, Washington, D.C.; Medical member of Chief of Naval Operations Drug Abuse team, Giving presentations at Department of Defense installations and U.S. Embassies worldwide
• 1970 – 1973
  Chief of Psychiatry, U.S. Naval Hospital, Naples, Italy; established U.S. Navy’s first overseas alcohol/drug rehabilitation program
• 1973 – 1980
  Director, Alcohol Rehabilitation Service, Naval Regional Medical Center, Long Beach, CA, designed a physician training course for substance abuse treatment and achieved national prominence with the treatment of high-ranking military and civilian members of the U.S. government.

Since his retirement from the U.S. Navy in 1980, he has continued to treat numerous public figures in the fields of government, entertainment, industry and professional sports. He supervised the drug testing program for players, linesmen and other officials at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open Championships and other Grand Slam tournaments in his position of Program Manager for the Men’s International Professional Tennis Council until 1989. His clients also include airlines, Federal agencies, professional sports and major U.S. Corporations.

Also in 1980, Dr. Pursch became Corporate Medical Director at Comprehensive Care Corporation. From 1987 until 1989 he was psychiatric consultant to South Coast Medical Center’s Chemical Dependency Service in Laguna Beach, CA. From 1989 to 1991 he was Corporate Medical Director for Community Psychiatric Center Hospitals, based in Laguna Hills, CA, and Medical Director of the Addiction Institute, Costa Mesa, CA until November 1993.

Dr. Pursch has served as expert witness in legal cases, conducted seminars and lectures worldwide and has appeared on network television programs including “60 Minutes,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Prime Time Live,” and “The Phil Donahue Show.”

He is featured in seventeen educational films which have become standard tools in the treatment of chemical dependency, and has written numerous articles and papers in the scientific and lay press.

His weekly column on substance abuse and addictive behaviors was syndicated by The Los Angeles Times Syndicate from 1981 until 1993 and appeared in papers across the country and Central America. His book, Dear Doc is available through Amazon.com.

Awards, Honors and Special Appointments:

• The Distinguished Service Medal from the President of the United States in 1980
• Airline Medical Director’s Award
• Association of Military Surgeons – William C. Porter Award
• Appointment to President Carter’s Commission on Alcoholism in 1980
• Appointments to President Reagan’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Drunk Driving in 1982
• R. Brinkley Smithers Award in 2001
  

Current Affiliations:

• Consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration
• Consultant to the U.S. Navy Surgeon General on Addictions and Alcoholism
• Visiting Professor, Department of Psychiatry of the Uniformed Services
• University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
• Board of Trustees, National Commission Against Drunk Driving
• Board of Directors, National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, Inc.
  

At the present time, Dr. Pursch is in private practice in Laguna Beach, California, where he treats individual patients, especially physicians, lawyers and pilots. He also conducts seminars and serves as an expert witness in legal cases.

Awards & Honors

Network Television Appearances

Published Works