About

There is a way

At Creative Pursuits, I believe that each of us has the potential to expand and deepen our lives so as to find meaning within, and in relationship with others. Regardless of whether our immediate focus is personal, social, or professional, we can be more effective, think more creatively and feel more fulfilled through self-awareness, self-responsibility, humor and curiosity."

Professional, creative and effective support for individuals, groups and organizations to facilitate:

• meaningful reflection on what is and has been,
• creative exploration of what might be,
• pragmatic plans for where to go next, and
• insightful support at each step along the way.

With degrees in both planning (University of Waterloo) and counselling (Open International University) Carole Ames has forged a full and successful career in planning, management and human relations.. She has cultivated her humour, creativity and integrity and blended these attributes in her work in both Canada and China.

Carole's career has taken her from Director of Planning for the City of Yellowknife (1986-1990) to Director of International Relations for The Haven Institute (2006-2014) to Mentor/Advisor for two Holistic Centres near Beijing China (2015-2017).

Carole is an active member of The Haven Institute's Core Faculty leading programs for them on Gabriola Island, BC as well as in China. She is accredited as a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (reg. #2943) with the Association of Cooperative Counselling Therapists of Canada.

One of Carole's personal interests has been the exploration of film, theatre and Improv. She has appeared in a number of productions, and has directed a one-woman play. She has also studied the ancient practice of Reiki, becoming a Usui Reiki Master in 2019.

Testimonials

BIG REASON FOR GROWTH AND SUCCESS

Working with Carole has been a big reason for Urban Solar's growth and success over the past year. As someone who has taken the helm of Urban Solar fairly recently, Carole's coaching has been invaluable in helping me develop as a leader and manager. In addition, she has facilitated two fantastic off-site events for our team. I am confident that the teamwork, communication and candour that I witness from our team on a daily basis is thanks in no small part to our continuing work with Carole."

EBEN LINDSEY, PRESIDENT & MANAGER - URBAN SOLAR

LEARN TO UNCOVER THE GOLD

We are in deep gratitude for the support you have provided us. There's a shift in our dynamic and an openness that has been most amazing; our lives will be forever positively impacted. You bring a joy and presence and curiosity to our sessions. Thanks for helping us to laugh at ourselves as we learn to uncover the gold."

T & S, RELATIONSHIP CLIENTS

Successful teambuilding

Thank you for a very moving and successful team building day that you so adroitly ran this past Thursday. The feedback has been so positive and I can feel the energy of the team gathering force."

DR. PAUL HARRIS, OWNER & MANAGER ~ PHOENIX TRANSFORMATIONS CLINIC

It helped to have you shine a light

I'm pleased to say that we are getting along well again. We're laughing together a lot more and we're back to more of the ease of being with each other that we were used to before we got into this power struggle. It helped so much to have you shine a light into our shadows so we could see how we were getting into conflict. We're doing SO much better than we were!"

D & S, RELATIONSHIP CLIENTS

Insightful facilitation

Carole did an excellent job working with our management team around communication and team-work. Our learning was enriched through her insightful and compassionate facilitation. As a team...this has enriched our connections and effectiveness. We would definitely recommend Carole as a facilitator and coach."

CLARE YAZGANOGLU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ~ VICTORIA WOMEN IN NEED (WIN) COOPERATIVE

Compassioate Inquiry

Your style of compassionate inquiry has always brought me clarity and healing by inviting me to identify my work and to set me up with a custom skill set to do the work."

TH, COUNSELLING CLIENT

Effective conflict resolution skills

Carole brings a broad perspective and a great deal of creativity to her work, which is also grounded in her pragmatism and solid knowledge of organizational leadership in both the not-for-profit and business sectors. She also has strong and effective conflict resolution skills that help people pause, listen and move forward together with respect out of those occasional stuck places we can all encounter."

JANE KILTHEI, REGISTRAR AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ~ COLLEGE OF MIDWIVES OF BC

Experience connection through humour

Carole uses humour as an approach to personal growth and exploration, which provides an excellent lens to view your emotional landscape. As a result, participants experience a fast and easy connection with each other through humour. Using humour as the jumping off point creates a comfortable padding to start exploring the deeper emotions or current issues/circumstances that you may avoid in your day to day life."

LESLIE SANDERSON - STUDENT ~ "GETTING UNSTUCK: THE ALCHEMY OF HUMOUR" (formerly THE QUANTUM LAUGH)

YOU WRITE BEAUTIFULLY

You write beautifully and with such authenticity. Because we have shared our journeys over decades, I can clearly hear the honesty in what you have written. And your work provided me with insight into my own life and areas to further explore."

S. SANATANI, FRIEND AND CORPORATE DIRECTOR

WRITING INVITES INNER REFLECTION

Carole's frankness in her writing invites the reader into a thoughtful inner reflection that can be very helpful to a similarly brave soul willing to do some inner work. Her candour invited me as the reader to open up into my own inner reflections about my life patterns. I found the experience fruitful."

JOCK McKEEN, CO-FOUNDER, THE HAVEN INSTITUTE