Brian Slayne, MBA, MS, LIAC, BHP

Licensed Independent Addiction Counselor — Addiction, Trauma & Recovery Specialist in Tucson

“Turning Lived Experience Into a Path Forward — Overcoming Addiction, Healing Trauma, Rebuilding Life”

Does Any of This Sound Familiar?

• Are you caught in a cycle of substance use that feels impossible to break — even though you want to change?
• Have past experiences of trauma, loss, or grief left you feeling stuck, disconnected, or unable to move forward?
• Do anxiety or depression make it harder to stay on the path toward recovery?
• Are you struggling with maladaptive thinking patterns that keep pulling you back toward self-destructive habits?
• Have you tried to get better before, but felt like something essential was still missing?

If any of this resonates, you are not alone. Recovery is possible — and it starts with the right support.

I’m Brian Slayne, MBA, MS, LIAC, BHP, a Licensed Independent Addiction Counselor at Renewal Centers with over twelve years of experience in behavioral health. I specialize in addiction recovery, trauma-informed care, and co-occurring disorders — working with adults across residential, outpatient, inpatient rehabilitation, and medical settings throughout southern Arizona.

Why Choose Brian?

Choosing a therapist is deeply personal — especially when it comes to addiction and recovery. Here is what clients often appreciate about working with me:

• Lived experience: I bring my own personal journey of overcoming addiction into the therapeutic space. That lived experience isn’t just part of my story — it’s a core part of how I connect with clients.
• Person-centered approach: I meet clients exactly where they are. My focus is on building genuine rapport through empathy, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard — creating a space where honest and confidential conversations can happen without judgment.
• Collaborative and strength-based: I don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, I work alongside clients to identify their self-determined solutions. You are the expert on your own life, and my role is to help you access the strengths and insights already within you.
• Spiritual integration (when appropriate and desired): For many people, recovery isn’t only a clinical process — it’s also a deeply personal and sometimes spiritual one. When a client wants it, I can integrate a 12-Step spiritual framework to support connection, meaning, and self-efficacy alongside clinical care. Spirituality is never imposed; it is always client-led, and our work together can be equally effective and meaningful with or without a spiritual approach. At Renewal Centers, we respect every path — religious, spiritual, or secular.
• Evidence-based and trauma-informed: All of my work is grounded in evidence-based modalities — including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing — while remaining fully attuned to the effects of trauma and loss on recovery.
• Extensive clinical range: With over twelve years working with adults across multiple care settings — residential, inpatient, and outpatient, including MAT Therapy — I bring a depth of experience that allows me to meet complex clinical needs.

Biography

I have been active as a professional in the behavioral health field for over twelve years, practicing in residential, outpatient, inpatient rehabilitation, and medical settings. My work is focused on helping people overcome identified struggles in life through individual and group therapy — meeting clients where they are at.

My focus is on building rapport using a person-centered approach and collaborating with clients on identifying self-determined solutions through empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. As a Licensed Independent Addiction Counselor (LIAC), I bring my own lived experience of overcoming addiction combined with a spiritual approach to helping others develop self-efficacy for positive change — improving connections with others, overcoming maladaptive thinking, and healing from the effects of trauma and loss to build confidence and wellbeing.

My clinical career began in community behavioral and mental health, treating substance use and process addictions, trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues — with a strong specialization in overcoming addiction.

My path to this work began long before graduate school. A background in economics and business (Boston College, Fordham University) gave me an analytical foundation, but it was my personal journey through addiction and recovery — and the graduate training in addiction counseling that followed — that ultimately called me to this work. I believe that the most meaningful change happens when clinical expertise, lived experience, and authentic human connection come together.

Education

• 1987 Bachelor of Arts, Economics — Boston College
• 2001 Master of Business Administration, Finance & Accounting — Fordham University
• 2016 Master of Science, Addiction Counseling — Grand Canyon University

Specialties

• Alcohol Use Disorder & Opioid Use Disorder
• Anxiolytic Use Disorder & Cannabis Use Disorder
• Stimulant Use Disorder
• Experienced in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
• Trauma-Informed Care
• Depression & Anxiety
• Co-Occurring Disorders (Dual Diagnosis)
  What are co-occurring disorders? Co-occurring disorders — also called dual diagnosis — happen when a substance use disorder and a mental health condition such as depression, anxiety, and/or trauma are present at the same time and each affects the other. Because these conditions are deeply intertwined, treating both together leads to significantly better outcomes than addressing each in isolation. If you’ve struggled with both substance use and mental health challenges — and felt like one keeps feeding the other — this is a central focus of Brian’s treatment approach.
• Coping Skills & Mood Disorders
• Codependency & Relationship Issues
• Spirituality & Relapse Prevention
• Anger Management & Impulse Control
• Explore all counseling services…

Therapeutic Approaches

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — restructuring maladaptive thought patterns
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — emotional regulation and distress tolerance
• Motivational Interviewing — building intrinsic motivation for change
• Trauma-Informed Care — addressing the root effects of trauma on behavior and recovery
• 12-Step Spiritual Approach — integrating spirituality and community-based recovery (when desired by client)
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) — practical, goal-oriented strategies
• Humanistic / Person-Centered Approach — empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard
• Strength-Based Approach — building on what clients already do well

Locations & Availability

Fees & Insurance

License

Frequently Asked Questions