The Reliance Center staff is dedicated to providing our patients with a warm supportive environment where they can safely and comfortably begin the process of their recovery. Our medical and psychotherapy staff have spent many years working in the addiction field supporting addicts and thier families, and know how to provide a sense of hope and optimism to conditions that often leave families truly worried about what the future will bring. We are deeply committed to healing the entire family.

Jerry Bayer received his master’s degree in Public Policy from California State University, Sonoma, including a year as a Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

He began working in the addiction treatment field in the Bronx, New York in 1970.  He has worked at treatment centers across the country,  designing, developing and evaluating a wide variety of treatment services and programs, including work at the National Drug Abuse Training Center (NDATC), the training branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). He is deeply committed to providing patients at Reliance Center^TM  with an evidence-based program of medication-assisted treatment in conjunction with a rich program of counseling services.

Carolyn Schuman, M.D. attended the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and  completed her training in internal medicine with the Permanente Medical Group.  Dr. Schuman has been involved in the field of addiction treatment for more than 25 years, with a special interest in the therapy of opioid dependence.  As the Medical Director of several opioid treatment programs, she has worked with literally thousands of patients using medically-assisted treatment.  She has served as the Principal Investigator of a National Institute of Drug Abuse sponsored clinical trial focused on buprenorphine and she has been active in providing training on opioid addiction to medical and mental health professionals. A member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the California Society of Addiction Medicine, Dr. Schuman sits on the CSAM Committee on the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, a working group dedicated to teaching physicians about therapy for opioid dependence and influencing public policy regarding opioid treatment. 

 

As Medical Director of Reliance Center^TM, Dr. Shuman looks forward to continue using evidence-based principals to help individuals struggling with opioid dependence, develop greater insight into their challenges, and regain control over their addiction and their lives.

Lubov V. Smith is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience. She was born and raised in former USSR, and after receiving her MA in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from University of San Francisco, she made substance abuse treatment her area of expertise.

 

Lubov comes to Reliance Center^TM with the wealth of experience including teaching at UC Berkeley on “Substance abuse and Domestic Violence", and providing substance abuse expertise on National Public Radio. Most recently she was Executive Director of Ohlhoff Recovery Programs, one of the oldest substance abuse treatment centers in the Bay Area. Lubov is clinically trained as a cognitive behavioral therapist, and has considerable experience working with dalectical-behavioral therapy and the Matrix treatment protocols. She is dedicated to providing clients with direct, truthful and compassionate support and care.