The Institute for Humanist-Existential Chaplaincy (I-HEC) is founded and directed by Dr Lindsay de Wal, an internationally recognised leader in humanist-existential chaplaincy and care.
I-HEC works in collaboration with the European Humanist Services Network (EHSN), a partnership of over 20 humanist organisations across Europe committed to making high-quality humanist services accessible to all who seek them. EHSN operates as a network-based partnership. Member organisations voluntarily join by signing an agreement that outlines shared commitments, standards, and collaborative aims. To become a partner within EHSN, organisations must be full members of Humanists International, the global umbrella body for the humanist movement.
Dr de Wal was the first humanist chaplain appointed as Head of Service in the United Kingdom and has led large NHS chaplaincy teams for over eight years across two major trusts. She trained at Master’s level in Humanist-Existential Chaplaincy in the Netherlands and completed a PhD at Middlesex University examining the lived experience of non-religious healthcare chaplains entering traditionally faith-based chaplaincy teams.
She is the author of Humanist Chaplaincy in Practice: A Student Textbook for Non-Religious Pastoral Care (Routledge, 2026), the first dedicated textbook in the field. Her work has been featured internationally across media platforms, and she serves as Director of Humanist-Existential Care for the European Humanist Services Network. Earlier in her career, she worked with the Humanist Community at Harvard.
Through I-HEC, Dr de Wal brings together academic depth, clinical leadership experience, international policy engagement, and practical formation expertise to create a coherent professional infrastructure for the next generation of humanist-existential chaplaincy practitioners.
Lindsay has appeared on BBC television and radio, national press, podcasts, and international forums discussing humanism, healthcare ethics, secular identity, and institutional reform.
She is experienced in live broadcast settings and public debate, bringing composure, nuance, and clarity to complex cultural conversations.
Alongside her professional work, Dr de Wal writes the public reflection series “What the HEC?", responding to everyday human dilemmas through a humanist–existential lens.
It’s a space for honest questions, shared reflection and grounded responses. Got a question? A tension? A dilemma you can’t quite shake? Why not ask it. What have you got to lose?