IEP Trainers

Clinical Psychologist with 35 years of extensive experience in private practice and a distinguished career in academic leadership. Professor at the Catholic University of Asunción (UCA) since 1990 and former Director of the Department of Psychology (2015–2019). Holds a Master’s Degree in Education (Maestría en Educación) and a Specialization in University Teaching (Especialización en Didáctica Universitaria).

Completed the Prevention Coordinators Regional Course – 2024, INEP Plus Spanish. (January–May 2024).

Proven expertise in executive leadership within the non-profit sector, having served as Executive Director of SSAFE (Servicios Sicológicos de Apoyo a la Familia y a la Escuela) and Head of School Prevention Programs at PRE-VER (NGO: Prevención de Adicciones). Internationally recognized for contributions to drug demand reduction and psychology, currently serving as a Board Member for ICUDDR (2018–2026) and ISSUP Paraguay (2023-present), as well as a member of the Global Psychology Alliance.

Dedicated to academic excellence as a Peer Reviewer for ANEAES (Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación de la Educación Superior): 2020-2025 and a member of several scientific editorial committees across Latin America.

Prolific author and researcher with numerous publications on childhood, adolescence, and family dynamics, including a 2026 chapter for John Wiley & Sons.

Natalia Eftaxia Zachartzi is a Social Worker and expert in addiction prevention and psychosocial health, with over two decades of experience in public health, child protection, and international collaboration. She holds a BA (Hons) in Social Work from the University of Lincolnshire & Humberside (UK) and an MSc in Criminal Law and Addictions, with honours, from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

She serves as Scientific Director of the Prevention Centers “SEIRIOS” (Municipality of Thessaloniki, in collaboration with EOPAE), where she oversees programmes that empower parents, educators, and young people through life skills training, including emotional awareness, communication, conflict resolution, and resilience. She has also been working since 2005 as a Child Protection Officer for individuals with disabilities, and in 2023 she founded LOUD, a social enterprise promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce.

She is a Board Member and National Coordinator of ISSUP Greece and, since 2023, a member of the Task Force of the Oviedo Declaration, contributing to advocacy efforts that advanced prevention-oriented drug policy discussions at the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and led to a resolution (Vienna, 2025). She is a certified INEP+ and IEP trainer, as well as a trainer for the programme “Building Competencies for the Social Work Workforce in Europe and Central Asia,” and has completed ASAP Training (2021).

She serves on the Advisory Committee of the Barcelona Forum on Drugs. Since 2021, she has delivered specialised training for the Greek National School of Judges on child rights, LGBTQI+ rights, and alternatives to incarceration, and since 2022 she has been a lecturer at the National School of Public Administration, focusing on drug prevention and workplace inclusion. She is also a member of the Observatory for Child-Friendly Justice of the Ministry of Justice (in collaboration with the University of West Attica). She is fluent in English and Spanish and communicates in Greek Sign Language.

Dr. Rachele Donini, MSC PSY, Psychologist and Psychotherapist, has been based at the Public Local Health Agency (ASL 2-Savona, Italy), Department of Mental Health and Addiction, since 1995.

After many years in both clinical and prevention fields, she has headed the Drug Prevention Unit since 2007. Her current work is about drug prevention planning and implementation, project management, and European project planning.

Over the last 18 years, she has been involved in several European projects aimed at advancing and disseminating the science of prevention, including the EDPQS (European Drug Prevention Quality Standards) and EUPC (European Prevention Curriculum) projects. She's currently involved in the European Joint Action for smoke and aerosol-free environments.

She's a member of the EUDA's (European Union Drug Agency) Advisory Board for the implementation and dissemination of the EUPC. She is certified by EUDA as a European Master trainer for EUPC. She has worked as a consultant to EUDA on prevention training programmes.

In 2020, she received the EUSPR (European Society for Prevention Research) award as a "Leading European Prevention Science Practitioner".

In 2021, ISSUP (International Society of Substance Use Professionals) Global involved her as lead trainer in the development and implementation of the INEP Plus prevention course. She is also one of the authors of the IEP (Investing in Evidence-based Prevention) initiative, which addresses policymakers and funders, developed by ISSUP. 

She can be contacted at: rachele [dot] donini [at] gmail [dot] com

Rasha Abi Hana is the Scientific Support Coordinator at ISSUP Global and an experienced trainer in evidence-based substance use prevention and mental health systems strengthening. She is currently finalising her PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology Department, where her research focuses on scaling up mental health services. She has an academic background in science and holds a Diploma in Mental Health Policy and Services from NOVA Medical School in Lisbon.

Rasha has extensive experience designing and delivering capacity-building initiatives at national and international levels. She is a certified European Prevention Curriculum (EUPC) European Master Trainer, recognised by the EUDA, and delivers both basic and advanced EUPC training across the MENA region in Arabic-, French-, and English-speaking countries. Her training portfolio includes multiple Training-of-Trainers programmes, such as the EUPC ToT (2021), the EUPC ASAP ToT (2019), and the WHO QualityRights ToT (2019).

Before joining ISSUP, she served as Service Development Coordinator for Lebanon’s National Mental Health Programme at the Ministry of Public Health, overseeing community mental health and substance use services. In her current role within ISSUP’s Scientific Support Team, Rasha is committed to strengthening the quality and scientific integrity of ISSUP’s services. She supports the development of evidence-based resources and training initiatives that enhance the global prevention and treatment workforce.