Kirsten DeLeo

Meditation teacher, International Trainer and Author

Kirsten has been teaching in the field of contemplative care for more than twenty-five years. She has served in palliative care/hospice as an educator, counselor and chaplain in the US and Europe. In 2002, she helped to pioneer Authentic Presence, one of the first training in contemplative end-of-life care in the US. Based on her experience, she wrote the award-winning book “Present Through The End. A Caring Companion’s Guide for Accompanying the Dying".

Kirsten is a long-time Buddhist practitioner and is currently on the steering committee of the European Buddhist Union’s chaplaincy network. She teaches regularly at Dzogchen Beara and is part of the care team supporting guests at the Spiritual Care Centre.

John Douglas

Counselor and Meditation Instructor

John is a Senior Meditation Instructor and Spiritual Care Educator and facilitates courses and workshops including Facing Loss and Healing Grief, Deep Listening and Healing Relationships. John is also a Pre-Accredited member of the IACP, working in private practice as a Counselor in Castletownbere and in ARC Cancer Support House in Bantry as well as being part of the care team supporting guests at the Spiritual Care Centre at Dzogchen Beara.

Chantal Bergers, MD

Chantal has worked with dying people in her eighteen years as a general practitioner and in recent years in nursing homes. She has been a palliative care consultant and teacher for over ten years and is a member of the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) Taskforce Spiritual Care. Chantal is a trainer in Deep Listening and an educator in the Spiritual Care Programme offering skills training and workshops on death and dying in Holland and Germany.

Katie O’Connell

CNS, MSc. Interdisciplinary Palliative Care, End-of-Life-Care (EOLC) and Spiritual Care Educator/Trainer.

Katie facilitates NMBI accredited End-of-Life Care and Spiritual Care training modules for care-assistants, nurses and allied health-care professionals.

Rosaleen Maguire

Social Worker

Rosaleen is a qualified social worker. She has worked most of her professional life with families and children. Rosaleen also has experience working with the International Red Cross. Rosaleen has a keen interest in group debriefings following critical incidents. For the past twelve years, Rosaleen has worked in the area of palliative care in Lauralynn's Children's Hospice, the only children's hospice in Ireland. For most of her life, she has had a particular interest in the area of bereavement, grief and loss. Her journey with Dzogchen Beara began in 2007 following the death of her father. She is a regular visitor to the Centre. In 2019, Rosaleen participated in the first Authentic Presence training in Ireland.

Noel Kennedy

BSocSC. H-DipASs. NQSW, Complicated Grief Counsellor

Noel currently is the principal social worker at Milford Care Centre, a specialist palliative care service in the Midwest of Ireland. He helps manage the Social Work Department, Pastoral Care Team, Staff Support Service, all of which play a role in accompanying the dying. He continues to have direct involvement with patients and their families. Over the last twenty-five years, he has worked for both statutory and voluntary organizations in community settings, residential care settings and now specialist palliative care. Deepening his understanding of spiritual care and its role in all our lives drew him to Authentic Presence. Noel is a graduate of Authentic Presence’s Contemplative End-of-Life Care Certificate.