About John F. Doherty

BA Economics
MSc Computer Science
Masters of Ministry in Supervisory Practice
Diploma in Psychology
Certificate in Jungian Studies
Fetac certification in Addiction Studies
Instructor of Movement Psychology
Diploma in Spiritual Direction 
QQI Life Coaching Certificate
QQI Train the Trainer
Mindfulness & Spiritual Wellbeing Teacher Trainer
Registered OneSpirit Interfaith Minister & Celebrant

I wear a number of hats at work:

1. Origins

I have been teaching in primary, secondary, third level and facilitating groups for many years. Coming from a long line of teachers (and worriers!) in my family, I began my teaching career for five years in primary and secondary school. I moved on to third level lecturing and have been working within adult education and corporate training for the last twenty seven years.

2. Cross Professional Supervisor & Work Support

After doing a Masters in Cross Professional Supervisory Practice, I focus on supporting carers, practitioners and professionals in their work with others. Front-line support is an important and often neglected area that is essential to avoid burnout and continue professional development. With this in mind I helped to found the Supervisory Association of Ireland in 2005. I provide group and one to one support for professionals helping them unpack, de-stress and reflect on their work. I have worked on the Masters in Chaplaincy program in Dublin City University offering group supervision and I´m on the Irish prison board supervisors list as well the OneSpirit Interfaith training supervisors list. I offer Cross Professional Support and my client list is wide ranging from solicitors to doctors, consultants, social workers, mindfulness teachers to name a few.

2. Ministry and Spiritual Counselling

After encountering Reiki healing and becoming a Reiki Master including a serious personal detox, starting in 1998 I began training in Tibetan Buddhism for eight years with the Rigpa organisation and did their instructor training program. In 2003 I completed a 2 year training program in “Dancing the Rainbow” with Lani O’Hanlon and Antoinette Spillane. This was a body based movement psychology training. It led me in 2005 to the Milltown Institute of Theology & Philosophy to study Spirituality and Psychology and work in the Spirituality department. I have a diploma in creative psychotherapy and like to work with particular focus on the interface between psychology and spirituality. In 2012 I finished studying a Diploma in Jungian studies, exploring in-depth the work of Dr. Carl Jung. I am a full member of SDI the Spiritual Directors International and a registered Interfaith Minister and Spiritual Guide and Supervisor ROSIM. I have spend many years teaching and facilitating Spirituality for Christian Religious congregations around Ireland. At present I work mainly in The Sanctuary Centre in Stanhope Street Dublin both online and In-person.

3. Mindfulness  – Teacher & Spiritual Director, Facilitator & Guide

I began teaching on the Applied Spirituality Program in the summer school at the Milltown Institute of Theology & Philosophy for a number of years and started designing and teaching contemplative classes in 2007. After the closure of the Milltown Institute I moved to All Hallows college, an affiliate of Dublin City University where I worked for 10 years until 2013. I designed and taught a course called “The Art of Stillness” in All Hallows for a number of years as part of the School of Adult and Community learning. Two further modules were developed within the same context – “The Art of Deep Stillness” and “The Art of Sacred Stillness”. These modules were also taught as part of the Adult Learners BA degree program in All Hallows. In 2015 after the closure of All Hallows, I worked for four years offering professional supervision on the Chaplaincy training Masters in Dublin City University.

In 2005 I began teaching and facilitating groups on the work of Eckhart Tolle. I am registered on Eckhart Tolle’s website as a facilitator of his work based on his ground breaking book “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth – Awakening to Life’s Purpose”. I used to teach workshops around Ireland and in the Chrysalis Retreat Centre on Eckhart’s work.

I founded The Beehive School for Mindfulness and Spiritual Wellbeing in 2006. It offers on-going training and programs for students to reflect, meditate and deepen their awareness skills. The Beehive Mindfulness School is the first place in the world that offers a professional training program in Mindfulness & Spiritual Wellbeing. This Professional Teacher Training Diploma explores the concept and practices of mindfulness, meditation and contemplation (Insight Meditation) through the lens of personal, psychological and spiritual development. The skills empower the teacher to be able to offer mindfulness and meditation sessions in a variety of contexts. The teachers’ knowledge is then enhanced by developing a Spiritual Wellbeing model of practice that shows how to put together different mindfulness and mediation practices depending on the philosophy, psychology or beliefs present. 

4. Men´s Work – Personal and Spiritual Development

For the first ten years of my personal and spiritual development I realised I was the “token man” in many of the groups and trainings I attended. This led me to the work of Richard Rohr where I first attended his Rites of Passage retreat for men in the Czech Republic with 200 men in 2008. Because of this encounter and the realisation of a need to support men I ran with a friend a local men´s group for personal development. I also helped to found and setup MALES (Men as Learners and Elders) the Irish association of Richard Rohr´s work that had monthly meetings and Rites of Passage retreats in Ireland.

5. Energy Work

While encountering Reiki healing in my early twenties I began my journey to learn, read and work with energy. I do this through different modalities, like hands on healing, reading peoples energy fields and connecting with subtler spiritual energies. I have studied Reiki, Spiritualist healing, Energy awareness development courses and I have studied in the Spiritualist: Arthur Finlay college in Stansted UK. I have sat in energy development and Spiritualist circles on and off for most of my adult life. This has given me a real appreciation of how to attune, to read and work with energy for healing and connection to the afterlife.

6. Celebrant Work

In 2020 I graduated and was ordained as a Onespirit Interfaith Minister. This two year training program gives people the skills to be celebrants for various rituals like weddings, baby blessings, funerals, rites of passage retreats and relationship closure ceremonies. The beautiful part of this work is that each ceremony can be co-designed with the participants and they can choose what they want in it and where they want it to be held. I offer ceremony work in Ireland and Spain. Because of my broader range of skills and as an ordained minister, each type of ceremony is also wrapped in a care package with before and after check-ins, support sessions, and even spiritual and therapeutic support if necessary.

7. Personal Note

On a personal note I work online and travel between Ireland and Spain to offer retreats and workshops with my wife Maria J. Lopez.

She works online and we have a Holistic Shop and Centre called SEN in El Campello, Alicante, Spain.

I like to play soccer, love mindfulness and ecstatic dance and I am an avid Leinster and Irish rugby supporter. My main job is being a Dad to three small boys and trying to remain sane!

8. Contact and More

Here´s my Link Tree

for contact information

and Social Media Pages