Our team

Kosmas Livanos began his involvement in the field of addiction recovery in 1996 as a trainee addiction counselor at the WCS center in Western England. He completed the program and worked as an addiction counselor, later becoming the clinical director of the unit for two years.

He then pursued a Master’s degree at Imperial College London, specializing in the creation of policies and interventions in the field of addiction recovery. For a year, he served as a lecturer at Imperial College London and also worked at Wandsworth Prison in London and on the RAPT program (Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust).

Afterward, he returned to Greece, where he founded the Research Center for Human Behaviors in 2001. The center was the first private institution in Greece to operate in the field of addiction recovery.

Today, he is a representative and advisor for C4 and PTACC (https://ptaccollaborative.org/), offering solutions and creating policies on social welfare and mental health issues for contemporary problems such as juvenile violence, domestic violence, substance addiction, and other issues that afflict society on a daily basis.

Vicky Rappa has worked in the healthcare sector for over 20 years and has a total of 26 years of experience in administrative positions at major companies and private hospitals in the country.

She worked at the Research Center for Human Behaviors from its establishment in April 2001, initially as the Secretariat of the Directorate, then as the Responsible for Financial Management. She also contributed to the Fundraising and Public Relations department of the Organization.

She holds a diploma in “Economics and Business Administration” and has worked for a total of 26 years as an Administrative Executive in the private sector. She also holds a degree from the Hellenic Open University in “Studies in Greek Culture” and has excellent knowledge of English and French.

The companies she has worked for include: (Express Service, Aspis Pronia, Systas Consulting Firm for Public Works, Facemed Private Clinic – Gynecology Clinic, Dermatology and Plastic Surgery, Athens Medical Center – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of GAIA Maternity, HHG Group – Health Spot (Primary Healthcare of the Hospitals Ygeia, Mitera, Metropolitan).

Kostis Alexandropoulos has been working in the field of addiction recovery for over a decade, specifically at KEAS. Initially, he was responsible for the first point of contact with individuals seeking help (screening). Later, he worked as a Junior Counselor and then as a Senior Counselor, joining the therapeutic team of the intensive closed program. From 2017 to the present, he works as a counselor and leader of the therapeutic team in the open therapeutic program at KEAS.

Throughout these years, his responsibilities have included coordinating group therapy, conducting individual sessions, developing personalized therapeutic plans, leading relapse prevention seminars, teaching skills, managing stress and anger, introducing clients to the philosophy of the 12-step program, psychoeducational sessions, motivational sessions, and family counseling.

Despoina Kolympiri is a licensed psychologist (license number: 1022534 / 17-10-2022). She graduated from the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences and completed her studies in the Master’s program in “Counselling” with a focus on “Counseling Psychology” at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has worked therapeutically with both adults and adolescents.

At the undergraduate level, she completed her internship at the Day Center of the NGO “Iasis” and the Community Psychiatric Care at Home, where she later volunteered for one year. She participated in coordinating activities focused on cognitive strengthening, promoting psychosocial skills, and creative expression for the beneficiaries of the center.

At the postgraduate level, she completed her internship in Lisbon, Portugal, as part of the Erasmus+ program. Specifically, she worked in the Special Education Department of Escola Secundária Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho High School, providing support to blind students, students with reduced vision, mobility and/or hearing impairments, cognitive deficits, and learning difficulties.

Additionally, she completed an internship at KETHEA EXELIXIS, specifically in the Special Immediate Access Center, which is a harm reduction and immediate access program for active substance users.

She has engaged in research at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with her latest research focusing on women’s perspectives on addiction. As part of her continuous education and awareness in the field of addiction, she is currently attending the program “Approaching the Individual and Family with Addiction Problems – Trauma-Informed Forensic Psychiatry” at the University of Western Attica.

Martha Stathatou is a nursing assistant, a graduate of the D.I.E.K. Psychiatric Hospital of Attica, and holds a professional license (1334/ 27-02-2019). She has attended First Aid and Cardiology Emergency seminars and has volunteered with E.P.O.M.E.A. (Voluntary Special Missions Group), participating in training exercises with KOMAK as well as humanitarian missions, such as in Serbia in 2013.

Professional experience in the healthcare field:

• Responsible for patient care in Mental Health Facilities (LIFE CARE, IOLI, CIVILA, OMORFI NEFELI, RIAL HOUSE).
• Nurse/Recipient at the diagnostic center, Health Spot polyclinic.
• Nurse in the Anesthesiology department at the Evgenidio Therapeutic Center.
• Exclusive Nursing & Homecare Nursing.
• Administrative support at Dr. Vasilios Souropoulos’ office.

Panagiotis Kalligas is a psychologist, a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Athens, with a Master’s in School Psychology, and training in systemic epistemology and systemic thinking at the Athens Center for the Study of Man (AKMA) from 2007 to 2012. During this period, he trained in Group Therapy and case analysis under the supervision of Psychiatrist and Family Therapist, Dr. Dimitris Sakkas.

In his 25-year professional career, he worked at the Research Center for Human Behaviors as a Psychologist – Addiction Counselor, Senior Counselor, and Coordinator of the therapeutic team and program. His responsibilities included individual patient sessions, coordinating and organizing the daily schedule of the therapeutic team, and providing on-call crisis management from 2001 to 2011.

Since 2012, he has worked at the “Diadromi” Center (Therapeutic Center for Addiction Treatment) as a Psychologist – Addiction Counselor, responsible for case assessments and overseeing the post-therapy program. He was also the coordinator of parent groups. Since 2016, he has held a responsible position in the Hellenic Parliament.

Aikaterini Trikkalinou is an Attending Internist – Diabetologist at Metropolitan Hospital and the Diabetology Department of the Healthspot Diagnostic Center.

She completed her specialization in Pathology at the 1st IKA Hospital “Pentele” in the B’ Pathology Clinic. She has been a private pathologist since 2005, and from 2014 to the present, she has been a scientific collaborator at the Diabetic Center of G.N.P. “Tzaneio”.

She also completed a six-month internship at the Infectious Diseases Unit of the 1st IKA Hospital B’ Pathology Clinic. As part of her specialization, she undertook a three-month internship in cardiology, ICU, and diabetes, as follows: she trained at the Diabetic Center and the Obesity Outpatient Clinic of the Laiko Hospital, at the Intensive Care Unit of the Hellenic Red Cross Hospital under Director K. Mandragos, and in cardiology at the 1st IKA Hospital “Pentele” Cardiological Clinic. She also trained in the ultrasonography of large vessels.

Additionally, she is a doctoral candidate at the University of Athens. Over the past 25 years, she has attended numerous educational seminars and participated in workshops and conferences as a speaker, chairperson, or author.

Her writing experience includes publications in Greek and foreign scientific journals.