PERSONAL  GROWTH  TEAM

Mario Duran, LCP 1499, MS in Substance Abuse Treatment. 
Licensed Therapist, Personal Growth Clinical Director, Co-Founder

Mario Duran completed his Licensure degree in Psychology at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), where he graduated with honors and went on to become one of the youngest professors in the School of Psychology of the University of Costa Rica. Mario completed a Masters program on Substance Abuse Treatment hosted by the Organization of American States (OAS) where he developed a residential treatment model for adolescents and eventually became part of the teaching staff, focusing on research models and best practices for residential programs.
Mario has a lot of experience, having served as clinical coordinator at Villa San Jose, a drug and alcohol treatment center. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Vida y Sociedad Foundation , a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing substance abuse prevention programs to elementary and secondary schools throughout Costa Rica. 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. Prior to NSA, Mario was the Clinical Director at Coronado Academy a therapeutic boarding school serving adolescent boys and girls.

Mario invests himself in building healthy relationships with students by interacting with them in our milieu, creating opportunities to model patience, sensitivity and empathy. He also believes in helping adolescents boys become respectful, tolerant and responsible young men by providing mentorship and constant support. Mario uses a strength based approach in therapy and believes in finding opportunities instead of threats when it comes to family dynamics and change.
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Mario 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 he enjoys mountain biking, nature, ​and indoor soccer.

Dr. Danny Recio, PhD
Co-Founder, Therapist, Director of Culture & Integration 

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, BA, LCP.
Licensed Therapist / Case Manager

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, BA, LCP
​Licensed Therapist / Case Manager

Ignacio grew up in a small Costa Rican town called Palmares. He earned his Bachelors degree and Licensure in Psychology in 2015 and he is currently incorporated in the Colegio Profesional de Psicólogos de Costa Rica. In 2017, Ignacio completed a technical certificate in Human Resources in the Universidad de Costa Rica to improve his knowledge of organizational psychology.

He has been part of the NSA team since 2016 -first 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.

Daniel Acuna, BA Psychologist, License to be approved May 2021. Assistant Therapist & Bridge Coach

Daniel is a Costa Rican psychologist whose calling is to work with at-risk youth. Daniel is particularly passionate about young adult development and has enjoyed guiding and mentoring young adults at the Bridge for many years. He likes integrating the wisdom of Cognitive Behavioral Psychology (CBT), Humanistic Psychology, Philosophy and Neuroscience into his role as the Therapeutic Coach at NSA & The Bridge. In his free time, Daniel enjoys sports, spending time in nature, and enjoying his family and friends. ​

Gerardo Marin, LCP, PhD (ABD).
​Licensed Therapist / Case Manager

Gerardo is a licensed clinical psychologist who is currently completing his doctorate ABD (all but dissertation). For many years, he has worked as a clinical psychologist and professor at multiple universities in Costa Rica. He has taught various university courses about developmental psychology, diagnostic evaluation, psychotherapies and psychopathologies. During his free time, Gerardo likes to play sports such as running, swimming,  basketball and soccer. He also enjoys  reading, writing, and spending time with his family.  

Adriana Araya, BA Psychologist, License in Progress (May 2021). Case Manager

Adriana is a therapist with experience in mental health care, both individually and collectively, as well as with different communities and a diverse range of ages. She’s worked with sexual abuse survivors, inmates and people who, overall, want to become a better version of themselves. Her constant effort towards promoting psychological well-being has proven that critical thinking is one of the pillars of personal growth, and that active listening and leading by example are one of the factors that can help change the world.

Elizabeth Corrales, MSW,
​Licensed Therapist & Case Manager

Elizabeth grew up in a small town called Monteverde. She had the privilege to study in an environmental school called the Cloud Forest School, surrounded by protected forest and beautiful nature. In 2002, she moved to Santa Barbara, California, for one year and graduated from middle school. By 2017 she had completed both her bachelor and licensure degree in Psychology in Costa Rica. In 2018 she was awarded the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship to earn a Master’s degree in Social Work with Families and Children. The academic program took place in Portugal, Norway and Sweden, where she had the opportunity to work with young people from different parts of the world. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing the ukulele, traveling, singing and training.

Dr. Steven Kogel, MD
​Psychiatrist, Medication Manager

Dr. Steven Kogel has his MD in Psychiatry from the University of Costa Rica and has been in private practice for about 30 years. Dr. Kogel worked as the General Director of the National Institute of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse in the 1990’s, and has worked with American adolescents at-risk for the last 9 years.
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He is a native English speaker with over 40 years of speaking Spanish. Dr. Kogel also brings unique interests to his practice, including composition of music and the juxtaposition of psychiatry & spirituality.

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 hasn't fully committed to NSA either! When her favorite staff (Diana or Catalina) are not around, we often find her roaming the streets outside, looking for new doggie friends... until it's time for dinner and curling up in her doggie bed. :) ​

Luna                                                      

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From an NSA Graduate who helped to choose and adopt Luna: Luna is the newest addition to the NSA pet family. We adopted her from a local shelter with the help of two students. She instantly connected with the community as a quirky, loving and fun friend for everyone. She loves to run around with Estrella and play with the students. Among the numerous activities that she partakes in, her favorite by far is sleeping. You can find her taking a nap in various locations around campus during the day. Luna is an equal-opportunity buddy, and a fun and loving member of the NSA community who instantly connects with anyone who she interacts with. 
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