Our Team
Dedicated clinical staff with over 50 years combined experience treating problem gaming
Dan Field, LCSW
Clinical Director, Co-Founder
Dan Field is a UCLA graduate and has worked in the addiction field in Los Angeles for over twenty years. Since 2011, he has focused his clinical practice on problem gamblers and their families and runs multiple weekly gambling addiction groups, conducts family mediation sessions and provides intensive therapy for moderate-to-severe gambling disorder. After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the federal ban on sports betting and the resultant explosion of digital gambling nationwide, his clientele has shifted to those who are much younger, predominately male and with a lengthy history of excessive gaming and problem gambling. He now serves as clinical supervisor for licensed gambling addiction specialists through the UCLA Gambling Studies Program and as adjunct professor at the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
Brad Ruderman, CADC II
Lead Clinician, Co-Founder
Brad Ruderman has worked as the Program Coordinator for Beit T’Shuvah Right Action Gambling program for nine years A state-certified gambling addiction specialist through the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, his clinical experience is marked both by working with hundreds of problem gamblers and affected individuals as well as his training at the Psychiatry
Department at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he developed a severe gambling disorder while working on Wall Street and has since turned his life around and is now dedicated to a life of abstinence and recovery.
David Leong, LCSW
Clinician, Co-Founder
David Leong attributes his commitment to treating problem gambling to his own experiences with overcoming an addiction to sports betting. David stopped gambling for good in 2017 with Dan’s guidance and active participation in the Beit T’shuvah (BTS) Right Action Gambling Program. Since this time, David has become a licensed gambling addiction specialist through the UCLA Gambling Studies Program and has co-founded Stop Betting Sports with Dan. Combining clinical experience with empathy for the highs, lows, and despairs of gambling addiction, it’s David’s mission to help others find their way out of the cycle once and for all.
Yael Landa, MA
Clinician
Yael Landa has overseen the largest publicly funded gambling addiction residential recovery program in California for over fourteen years as Program Director of the Right Action program at Beit T’Shuvah (BTS) Treatment Center in Los Angeles, CA. In that role, she has guided countless problem gamblers and their families through the process of residential and intensive outpatient treatment, family-oriented addiction work, individual therapy and ongoing recovery support. Previously, Yael worked at EAC Inc. where she provided forensic mental health services to the Brooklyn Mental Health Court in New York. She received her B.A. and M.A. from John Jay College in NYC and is fluent in three languages.
Roberto Cruz, LCSW
Clinician
Roberto Cruz is a licensed gambling addiction specialist through the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, a first-generation Latino and a native Angelino. Working with his community as a psychiatric social worker for the Department of Mental Health for over nine years, he has seen firsthand the benefits of accessible, linguistically appropriate mental health care to under-represented communities. A longtime colleague of Dan’s, he too has been alarmed by the normalization of I-Gaming and sports betting and is concerned by the growing public health crisis resulting from its unconstrained expansion.
Fiona Nottingham, PsyD, LMFT
Clinician
Fiona Nottingham, PsyD., LMFT is a licensed gambling addiction specialist through the UCLA gambling studies program. She has extensive experience in residential, outpatient, and private practice settings counseling problem gamblers, affected loved ones, and groups. Fiona has worked with Brad and Yael at the Beit T’Shuvah Right Action Gambling Program and has clinical expertise working with individuals with criminal history, trauma-related conditions, substance use an process addictions, and co-occurring diagnoses. She brings a non- judgmental approach with warmth, genuineness and empathy through a strong therapeutic relationship. Her clinical work integrates evidence‐based practices with psychodynamic approaches, helping
clients increase adaptive coping skills and understand the multiple underlying factors associated with a gambling disorder. Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, Fiona has a substantial background as an executive in the global entertainment industry.
Deborah Buhaj, MSW
Clinician
Deborah Buhaj, ACSW, specializes in the treatment of gambling disorder, with particular clinical focus on sports betting, iGaming, and the mental health impact of gambling-related harm on individuals and families. She has trained with the UCLA Gambling Studies Program (UGSP) and works closely with interdisciplinary teams to provide evidence-based, trauma-informed care. Her clinical approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), relapse prevention strategies, and family-focused interventions through an emotion-focused lens, helping clients explore the underlying attachment dynamics and self-destructive patterns that contribute to problem gambling. In addition to her direct clinical work, Deborah is involved in program development and research initiatives aimed at advancing prevention and early intervention among adolescents and young adults. She is committed to addressing gambling disorder as an emerging public health concern and to expanding access to informed, compassionate treatment.
Dario Grant, ACSW, RAC
Clinician
Dario Grant is a Marine Corps veteran, therapist, and registered addiction counselor with specialized training in problem gambling through the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, the USC Institute for Addiction Science, and the UCLA Gambling Studies Program. After the Marine Corps, he struggled with the loss of mission and moved through his own cycles of addiction before returning to purpose as a psychiatric social worker with LA County DMH Veterans Services. He now provides veteran-centered problem gambling education and clinical support.
Jake Schuster, AMFT
Clinician
Jake Schuster has focused his clinical training on treatment of problem gambling and gaming since earning his master’s degree in clinical psychology at Antioch University. He has worked closely with Brad and Yael at the Beit T’Shuvah Right Action Gambling Program and now works predominately with adolescents and young adults who present with ADHD, gaming/gambling disorder and co-occurring mental health challenges. Prior to entering the field, spent nearly a decade in sponsorship sales for professional sports and Esports organizations, gaining invaluable exposure to how evolving forms of gambling are marketed to younger audiences. His clinical approach integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based practices to help clients break addictive cycles and make values-driven choices.
Donovan Cecil
Qigong and Meditation Coach
Donovan Cecil is a lifelong martial artist and instructor with over 22 years of experience teaching traditional KungFu, TaiChi, and Qigong to students of all ages. Donovan’s passion for Eastern arts, culture, and philosophy began at the age of six. He’s drawn to ancient Chinese martial arts because they offer a complete path of development integrating physical strength,
internal cultivation, and philosophical depth. Together, these disciplines promote a healthy, balanced lifestyle that invigorates and harmonizes the mind, body, and spirit. After experiencing profound transformation through his practice, Donovan devoted his life to sharing these life- changing arts with others with the intention of making the world a better place.