PERSONAL  GROWTH  TEAM

Mario Duran, LCP 1499, MS
Personal Growth Clinical Director, Co-Founder

Mario Duran is a clinical psychologist with postgraduate studies in group psychology and substance abuse treatment. He is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in educational research. Mario is the director of a postgraduate program in Addiction studies at UNED Costa Rica and serves as the liaison for The International Consortium of Universities for Drug Demand Reduction (ICUDDR). He is a professional member of the International Society of Substance Abuse Professionals (ISSUP) and has been teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels for over 20 years. He has been a clinical supervisor in the US and Costa Rica and has trained as a neurofeedback practitioner. Mario has been an active member of the Costa Rican Professional Board of Psychologists since 1998 (license # 1499) and has served in the Ethics Committee.
Mario has been working in residential settings in various capacities over the past two and a half decades, ranging from lead therapist to Clinical Director in both non-profit and private facilities, serving a variety of clients and families in multicultural settings. He has consulted for mental health and educational institutions, NGO’s and international organization and has published several articles and research reports on behavioral health, best practices and addiction.
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Mario invests himself in mentoring our clinical team, building healthy relationships with students in the milieu, and supporting parents in their journey through parenting planning groups and workshops. He implements a relationship and solution-based approach in his clinical practice to guide people in matching their intentions with actions in meaningful and practical ways. He has lived in Costa Rica most of his life and has had the opportunity to also live in the United States and France. He is a proud husband and father and an enthusiast of spiritual teachings.

Dr. Danny Recio, PhD
Co-Founder, Director of Bridge Young Adults

Danny co-founded NSA in 2005 and the Bridge in July 2012. He has been guiding young men to open up their worlds to find more fulfilling paths for over 15 years. Danny is a native of Costa Rica but studied abroad in South Africa where he "came of age" in a way that further fed his passion for humanistic, experiential growth, specifically through exploration, discovery, adventure and cross-cultural experiences.

Danny is trained in Clinical Psychology both in Costa Rica and in the USA, but he chose to step outside of its confines for his doctoral work, which was on Integrated Ecology. He has found that just like nature thrives on diversity, knowledge does too. Some of the most exciting perspectives he uses for his work did not come from Psychology, but from various fields, such as Anthropology, Evolutionary Biology, Education (especially constructivism), Systems Theory, Neuroscience, and of course Ecology. 
He has an astounding well of patience and passion for working with and engaging everyone he meets. ​​In his personal life, he tries to take in all the shades of color life has to offer and to seize the precious opportunity of being alive. Being a kid again when playing with his children, sharing a life’s mission with his wife, spending time in nature, sharing with people from other cultural worlds, and trying to radiate as much passion with the least amount of fear are some of ways in which he feels the most alive.

​Caleb Cortes, MS, LCP, Therapist

Caleb completed his clinical psychology degree and license to practice in 2010. He is currently completing his Masters in Clinical Psychology at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. Caleb brings diverse experiences to NSA, from working at the Ministerio de Educacion Publica to working in rehabilitation centers and private practice. He is experienced in group therapy, substance abuse counseling, diagnostics, and implementing didactic trainings and workshops.
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In his free time, Caleb he enjoys spending time with his wife and young children.

​Ignacio Vasquez, MS, LCP, Therapist

Ignacio grew up in a small Costa Rican town called Palmares. He earned his Bachelor's degree and Licensure in Psychology in 2015. In 2022, he earned his Masters in Addiction Studies. He was elected as an Alternate Board Member for the period from 2021-2022 in the ethics court of the Psychologist Professional Association of Costa Rica. 

He has been part of the NSA team since 2016 when he first served as an Experiential Education mentor who facilitated cultural activities, Student Council, Aventuras, and served as the Experiential Education/Personal Growth liaison. After learning all the ins and outs of NSA life, Ignacio joined the Personal Growth team full time as a case manager. Ignacio enjoys playing the guitar, exercising, gardening, traveling and spending time with his friends and family.

Noelia Chavez, LCP, Therapist

Noelia graduated with honors with a degree in psychology from the University of Costa Rica. She has experience in planning cultural immersion experiences for tourists, cross cultural learning, private clinical psychologist practice, and supporting mental health in medical centers. In 2022, she began pro bono work with PANI (the Costa Rican child welfare agency) and has played a vital role in ensuring the rights of minors in Costa Rica, which has allowed her to acquire knowledge and experience in matters of legislation, adoptions, and processes of attention and care of minors in the country. Her volunteer work protecting abandoned children and her professional career path have developed in her an affinity to work with young and continue researching and creatively developing support systems to aid in their personal growth. 

Amalia Gamboa, MSW, Therapist

Amalia originally studied ecotourism before continuing her studies in social work. She has worked in various experiential education settings, perfecting her skills working with youth in outdoor settings.  She has worked with clients from various backgrounds, particularly teens and young adults who struggle with risk-taking behaviors and substance abuse. She uses a mix of different modalities tailored to the needs of both the client and family. These include motivational interviewing, CBT, experiential therapy and narrative therapy. She finds that helping clients analyze and change the stories they tell themselves about the world can be very beneficial to improve mood management, agency and resilience. Amalia is bilingual and loves the outdoors, especially mountain biking and rock climbing. Her joy at work comes from accompanying clients as they overcome struggles and create long-lasting changes in their lives. 

Estrella

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Estrella moved in around 2018 to join our four legged posse, and her cute underbite wins everyone over. She's definitely the feistiest of all of our pups, and she lets us know when any strangers arrive to campus!

When her favorite staff (Diana or Catalina) are not around, we might find her roaming the streets outside the gate, looking for new doggie friends... until it's time for dinner and curling up in her doggie bed. :) ​

Rosita                                                      

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Rosita joined our crew after the pandemic. She is a sweetheart, but also a sleepheart because she ends up sleeping most of the day so she can run around at night and keep campus safe.