HDS is a registered charity in Scotland and we are based in Glasgow.  Our objectives are:

• To improve health and social care professionals’ understanding of, and ability to apply, psychodynamic ways of thinking.
• To reduce mental distress by delivering psychodynamic counselling and psychoanalytic psychotherapy to the public.

To achieve our objectives we deliver:

• A training escalator for professionals working with adults, children and young people.
• A post-qualification CPD programme.
• Consultancy and supervision services for practitioners and organisations.
• Psychodynamic counselling and psychotherapy for the public.

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Watch this short video introducing our professional training at HDS.

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Here are three reasons why you should choose HDS to further your development.

Learning and applying psychodynamic thought

HDS was formed to carry on the work of the Scottish Institute of Human Relations (SIHR), established by Dr John (Jock) Sutherland and others in 1971 with the aim of expanding the application of psychodynamic thought in Scotland.

We offer the training and services previously delivered by the SIHR. These have at their heart the psychodynamic, psychoanalytic and systemic ideas that offer a profound understanding of how people relate to one another.

Our training courses for professionals working particularly in the NHS, social services, education, private practice and voluntary sector translate these ideas into practical tools for understanding the central role that human relationships play in our mental health and emotional wellbeing.

Unique in Scotland

Our Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy ​(CAP) programme, for example, is a practical and theoretical training course in psychoanalytical psychotherapy with children and young people.  This course is the only one in Scotland which is approved by the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP).

Making a difference

Hundreds of professionals have been equipped by HDS and have used the experience in their work as teachers, social workers and in other ‘people-facing’ professions, for example.  Some have shared their experience by returning to teach on our courses, contributed to our conferences and events, and by publishing books and papers.

We believe our professional training will help to relieve mental and emotional distress by increasing the availability of, an access to, high quality psychodynamic and psychoanalytic counselling and psychotherapy for all who need them.

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Watch our former student, Tim, tell us about why he chose to study with HDS.

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