Dr. Slayden received his undergraduate degree, a B.S. in Chemistry, from the University of Miami. He was awarded his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee. After receiving his M.D. degree, Dr. Slayden trained as a medicine/pediatric intern at Jackson Memorial Hospital (University of Miami) spending a portion of his internship in pediatric neurology at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, England. Following his internship, Dr. Slayden completed the first two years of his psychiatric residency at Tulane University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. He completed his adult psychiatric residency concurrent with his child psychiatry fellowship as well as a forensic psychiatry fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. While in his fellowship, Dr. Slayden was trained by several of the pioneer family psychiatrists and therapists in the country including Salvador Minuchin, M.D., Jay Haley, Bralio Montalvo, Milton H. Erikson, M.D., Chloe Madanes, Ph.D. and others. 

Dr. Slayden came to Atlanta after completing his training in active duty in the U.S. Army and served as Chief of Neuropsychiatry in the U.S. Army Hospital, Ft. McPherson, Georgia, at the time the second most important Army Headquarters behind the Pentagon in the US. He achieved the rank of Major during his military tour of duty.

Dr. Slayden, along with Dr. Waugh, founded the Atlanta Area Family Psychiatry Clinic in 1977 with the mission of providing multidisciplinary psychiatric and psycho-therapeutic services for children, adolescents, adults and their families. Dr's. Slayden and Waugh vision was to develop a private child, adolescent, adult and family oriented full service private psychiatric clinic for those who need an ongoing therapeutic relationship with their care provider. As a senior and founding partner of Atlanta Area Family Psychiatry Clinic, P.C., he managed AAFPC as the clinic's administrator, chief technical officer, and clinically through mid 2025. 

Now in a separate solo clinical practice, Dr. Slayden specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents and adults with many conditions, including ADHD, Anxiety Disorders, Asperger's Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders,  Compulsive Hair Pulling (Trichotillomania), Depression, Eating Disorders, Family Conflicts, Learning Disabilities, Marital Problems, Mood Regulation Disorders (Bipolar and other related conditions), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Psychosomatic Disorders, School Problems, Substance Abuse Disorders, Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome. He is a very experienced and fully trained in psychotherapy (therapy/counseling) techniques including individual (child, adolescent, adult), family and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. He utilizes a multi-modal approach in treating patients including judicious use of psychopharmacology (medication) treatments when indicated. Dr. Slayden has stayed close to his identity and training as a physician , adding to his understanding of the mind/body interface in treating complex presenting problems with a psycho-bio-social conceptualization. He serves his patients by remaining available on call for urgent matters virtually 24/7/365, even when on vacation. Dr Slayden remains available to communicate with his patients directly through voice mail.

Dr. Slayden is member of the American Psychiatric Association which recently awarded him Life Membership status. Dr. Slayden is also a member of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Georgia Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

Dr. Slayden was named as a "Top Doc" by Atlanta Magazine and is also listed in "America's Top Physicians" guide. On March 18, 2013 Dr. Slayden received the following recognition by Patient's Choice: "Dear Dr. Slayden: Congratulations! You have been recognized as one of America's Most Compassionate Doctors. "awarded selection in national "Top Doctors" by Consumers Checkbook and also listed in "US News & World Report" doctors awards.

Dr. Slayden has been a pioneer in the use of computers in psychiatry. He brought the first computer into a private practice in Georgia in 1977 (an IBM 5110) and was asked to be a regular speaker for IBM on the use of computing in medicine. He then established the capability to provide video-psychiatry (a form of tele-medicine) for established patients such as students away at boarding schools, college students or individuals on extended travel (for example a student on a year long volunteer placement in Chile.)

Serving the community as a life-time board member of Mill Springs Academy, a non-profit special education school for children 1-12 with traditional school challenges, is a significant part of Dr. Slayden’ s professional life. He served as board member, Mill Springs’ program consultant, admissions committee for 45 years and has continues to be a major contributor to all of Mill Springs' fund raising campaigns. He is one of the founders of this unique program (1981) when he and Tweetie Moore founded Mill Springs. He was the architect of its community/levels system. He was honored to have the school's High School Building named after hin in December, 2022.

Dr. Slayden has served as a consulting psychiatric evaluator for several metro Atlanta county school systems, providing independent evaluations and reports for many children in these systems.

Dr. Slayden and his wife, Beryle, were married while he was in undergraduate school at Univ of Miami. Their son, Scott Slayden, M.D., is a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist with Reproductive Biology Associates here in Atlanta. Dr. Slayden’ s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Slayden, M.D., also practices child, adolescent and adult psychiatry.

In his leisure time Dr. Slayden enjoys spending time with his family and three grandchildren. He is often found immersed in one of his many hands on activities including several personal architectural and landscape projects. He especially enjoys working with mechanical things like his classic automobiles and his 1937 Gar Wood wooden boat, "PEGASUS" hence the name of his practice. He performs most of his own work in maintaining them, improving them, and keeping them operational and in top shape.