After over 6 years of dedicated service, Lindsay Shrubsole recently retired from her role of Chair of the Board of Trustees at HDS. Lindsay has been with HDS since 2020 and has held various roles including Chairing both the Board of Trustees and the Child & Adolescent Training Committees. 

Becky Smith, Director of HDS extends her sincere thanks to Lindsay on behalf of the entire HDS team. “Lindsay’s dedication has played a vital role in safeguarding the quality of our training and ensuring that the values and principles guiding HDS throughout Scotland continue to thrive at the centre of our work”.

Our Message of Thanks to Lindsay

We offer our sincere appreciation to Lindsay who joined HDS in 2020, bringing with her the experience of a long NHS career and her own private practice to help HDS reach the milestones it has today. Lindsay has held various roles in her time at HDS including Chairing both the Board of Trustees and the Child & Adolescent Training Committees.   

Lindsay represents a vital voice in her field, with specialist expertise in the treatment and management of severe personality disorder. Lindsay trained first as a Clinical Psychologist and then as a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist and has extensive clinical experience, spanning over forty years of working in the NHS and in a small private practice. Lindsay’s drive and energy in advancing the values and understanding of psychoanalytic thinking across mental health provision are deeply admirable and an inspiration to others.

Under Lindsays guidance, HDS met important milestones, strengthened governance and navigated periods of both growth and challenge like COVID-19. Beyond her accomplishments, Lindsay will be remembered for her integrity, spirit and deep belief in the work we do.

On Thursday 22 January 2026, we bid a heartfelt farewell to Lindsay at a lunch in our HDS Training Suite. HDS Staff, Tutors and Board Members, extended our gratitude to Lindsay for her tireless service. Our new incoming chair of the board of Trustees, Joe Lafferty thanked Lindsay and recognised her outstanding contributions to HDS over the years.

“… you stood in the gap and went well above and beyond what would be expected, you deserve enormous credit for steadying the ship, working with Becky and giving a firm foundation for HDS

…My first Board meeting and Trustee Development Day was generously hosted by The Queens Nursing Institute Scotland, who has a Florence Nightingale quote on the wall "Rather ten times die in the surf, heralding the way to a new world than stand idly by the shore." You stood in the surf to fight for the new world and for that we, HDS, the staff and board are very grateful”

From all at HDS, we wish Lindsay every success and fulfilment in the next chapter ahead and we thank her for all she has given to HDS. While Lindsay may be stepping away from the role of Chair, her contributions will continue to shape our work for years to come.