ADELE LISA BATES

My name is Adele Bates and I'm an independent counsellor, consultant and life coach of more than 35 years experience. As a counsellor I work with individuals to help them gain insight into themselves and their behaviour in order to make their own lives better and which can also be applied to improve their relationships with others.

Counsellor, consultant and life coach working in a wide variety of organisations and cultures in the public and private sectors, large corporations and small businesses, board level to grass roots as well as a private counselling practise. As a professional therapeutic counsellor I have had my own private practice in North Wales since 1999 and work as an independently appointed psychotherapist for a corporate Employee Assistance Programme covering North Wales.As a coach in mental preparation I have worked with elite international athletes performing at world-class level and as a consultant with the British Athletics Federation.

Counselling is helping people explore their problems and gain personal awareness, clarity and life skills for making choices, decisions and changes and feeling more positive in order to take more control and managing their lives better. It's about having a better relationship with ourselves so we feel more confident and can bring that to address a wide range of issues and challenges and to other relationships. It is not about telling people what to do; it's helping them solve their own problems, in a way that's personal, informed and relevant to them.

Life coaching is about helping people unlock their potential and being clear about what they want, what their goals are and how to achieve them. Its focus is on developing and improving life skills. Life coaches help people from all professional and personal backgrounds improve their strengths and minimise their weaknesses in order to make the most of their lives and having a plan to ensure change happens.

Typically most animals have a much shorter life-span than our own, so choosing to own a pet will almost inevitably result in the pain of loss at some point in our life-time. The loss of any pet who has been the focus of love and attention can be devastating, be it a dog, horse, cat, rabbit, bird or whatever the species, but in our society loss of a beloved pet is not always given the credence and recognition that those suffering the loss need or deserve.Grief, whether over a person or animal, is a process which requires time, support and empathetic understanding.