Meet Our Team

David is an master addiction counselor (MAC) specializing in the application of complementary therapies to enhance the addiction treatment and recovery process. He is dedicated to minimizing the stigma of addiction and is a proponent of using innovative treatment methods backed by evidence-based research. David has worked in hospital, residential and outpatient settings to provide direct care and develop programs for adolescents and adults. Known for his ability to create and nurture strong yet compassionate multidisciplinary clinical teams, David is the 2021 recipient of the Visionary Leadership Award given by the Virginia Summer Institute for Addiction Studies and the 2020 recipient of the International Association for Addiction Professionals’ (NAADAC) William F. “Bill” Callahan Award.

Before joining New Life, David was the director of membership and affiliates at NAADAC in Alexandria, Virginia. Prior to working at NAADAC, David served as clinical director at The Freedom Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland; clinical director at Serenity Acres Treatment Center in Crownsville, Maryland; director of program development at Bridging the Gaps Treatment Center in Winchester, Virginia; assistant director at the Recovery Center of Northern Virginia in Herndon, Virginia; and lead chemical dependency counselor at Riverside Hospital in Washington, DC.

David is president of the Virginia Association of Addiction Professionals (VAAP) and served as chair of the Virginia Summer Institute for Addiction Studies (VSIAS). He sits on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Association of Addiction Professionals (VAAP), the Virginia Summer Institute of Addiction Studies (VSIAS) and NAADAC.

David has presented training sessions and workshops for a variety of organizations including United Airlines, West Virginia Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, Virginia Counselors Association, George Washington Center for Integrative Medicine, Chesapeake Health Education Program, George Mason University and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He has a master’s in human services with an emphasis in addiction treatment and has studied under neurofeedback pioneers Sue and Siegfried Othmer of EEG Info, Dr. Richard Soutar of the New Mind Center and Bill Scott of BrainPaint.

Dr. Scotto and New Life Addiction Counseling & Mental Health Services have a history of referrals and collaboration for several years. Dr. Scotto completed his residency in 1992 at University of Connecticut Health Center following his graduation from Ross University of Medicine and medical internship at Yale University. Over the last 25 years, Dr. Scotto has been the medical director at several facilities on the eastern shore of Maryland: Waterside Psychiatric Program, Charter Behavioral Health Systems, Peninsula Mental Health and McCready Hospital. He then migrated toward Baltimore, becoming medical director and then chief medical officer for Baltimore Behavioral Health. The opportunity to become staff and then consulting psychiatrist at Howard County General Hospital drew him to Columbia where he now has a private practice on the days he is not at New Life. New Life Addiction Counseling Services is pleased to have Dr. Scotto as an integral part of our treatment team.

Dr. Matthew Ruble is the Chief Medical Officer of Discovery Behavioral Health. Dr. Ruble has a deep passion for advancing the behavioral health industry through training, publication, innovation, payer relations and collaboration. He spent 20 years of his career working with the Cambridge Health Alliance, a health system affiliated with Harvard Medical School, responsible for training clinicians, residents and medical staff in core evidence-based practices including:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Psychiatric curriculum development
• Research
• Publications
• Speaking nationally on evidence-based practices
• Integrated behavioral and physical health care delivery

As Lead Medical Director overseeing Clinical Behavioral Health Strategy and Operations for Humana, he was part of the team that reviewed and advised on all behavioral health technology innovations for investment and implementation. His expertise spans consistent delivery of innovative and value-based, industry-leading, and integrated behavioral health programs and services.
Dr. Ruble earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. From there, he attended the Carver School of Medicine at the University of Iowa, earning his Doctor of Medicine degree. He then attended Harvard Medical School in Boston to intern at the Department of Medicine and became a resident at the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Ruble became Chief Resident of the Psychopharmacology at Cambridge Health Alliance as well as a physician educator at the Academy at Harvard Medical School.