ADHD Coaching for Adults - via phone or video

How many times have you read a book on ADHD*, and wondered what to do with all that information? How to connect the dots? It can be really hard to figure out the exact steps you need to take to connect your newfound knowledge with your current reality.

ADHD coaching is a specialized form of life coaching in which the coach has extensive knowledge and experience with Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder*. It's a partnership where the coach and the client work together to overcome whatever challenges are getting in the way of the client's success.  Beth Main, your ADHD coach, brings understanding, support, proven techniques, structure, accountability and the ability to get to the bottom of any issue. You bring a strong desire to change and a willingness to take action. It's a powerful combination.

ADHD coaching is holistic. It focuses on the whole person, not just the disorder. It's targeted to your individual needs, preferences, values, and lifestyle. What is ADHD keeping you from accomplishing? Let's figure out what the barriers are, and get past them so you can achieve what you want most in life.

Areas of concern that are typically addressed in ADHD coaching include:

  • Understanding the impact of ADHD
  • Time management
  • Planning and prioritizing
  • Organization
  • Punctuality
  • Impulsivity
  • Confidence
  • Finding your strengths
  • Meeting important deadlines
  • Avoiding procrastination
  • Maintaining healthy relationships
  • Focus and distractibility
  • Life balance
  • Understanding co-existing conditions

Most coaching clients have specific life goals they want to make progress towards. We address ADHD symptoms in that context. What do you want to achieve? Where are you getting stuck? What needs to be improved in order for you to make progress? That's what we work on. 

How does ADHD coaching work?

The ADHD coaching partnership is flexible and designed to meet your needs. During your first session, we'll discuss what you want to achieve, where things stand now, and start to identify long term goals. In each subsequent session, you get to decide what we will work on. It's important that you come prepared with an agenda. We'll analyze the issue and get to the bottom of what's going on. Then we'll engage in some problem-solving.  Beth will have lots of suggestions based on her experience with ADHD. You'll also have ideas since you are the expert on you.  As a team, we will identify one or more things you're willing to take action on between sessions. The final piece is accountability. You'll check in with Beth once a week to report your progress, and she will initiate an additional check-in with you, for a total of two check-ins per week.

How long will I need coaching?

The duration of ADHD coaching depends on your goals, motivation, and rate of progress, among other things. Some people hire an ADHD coach for a specific project, others stay in coaching for years. The ultimate goal of coaching is to provide support until you learn and integrate the skills necessary to independently stay on track over time. Expect this process to take at least three months.

What about medication?

Although medication can be part of a successful treatment plan, it can't teach you the planning and organizational skills that people with ADHD often lack. Medication can make it possible to do the things that you can't do without it. But you still need to learn skills you may have missed earlier in life. For example, medication might help you focus long enough to pay your bills, but it can't teach you how to be organized enough to keep track of them.

Multimodal treatment (medication together with behavioral interventions, such as ADHD coaching) is commonly considered to be the most effective way to ameliorate ADHD symptoms. Whether or not to include medication in your treatment plan is totally up to you.  Beth will support your decision either way.

Why choose an independently credentialed ADHD coach?

Anyone can call themselves a coach - the field is not regulated. A credential is a good way to make sure a coach you might want to hire has the qualifications to be able to help you. An ADHD coaching credential signifies that the coach has obtained a high level of skill, knowledge, and experience as an ADHD coach, and has passed a rigorous examination by the credentialing organization.

"As with any profession, I would not send a patient to someone who has not attained sufficient training and education in a field. When looking for an ADHD Coach, doing a little research will help you find a coach that has earned a credential in that profession. General Coach training is a plus but when you find a credentialed AD/HD Coach, it signifies that the coach has been through extensive training and has been evaluated for skill, knowledge, ability and expertise." John Ratey, M.D. – Psychiatrist.

Beth Main has earned the Certified ADHD Coach (CAC) credential from the Institute for the Advancement of ADHD Coaching (no longer in existence). She has also earned the Board Certified Coach designation from the Center for Credentialing and Education.

What if I just have ADD - with no hyperactivity?

ADD - or Attention Deficit Disorder - is actually an older term that is no longer used by the medical community. The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition), which is the book mental health professionals use to diagnose disorders, defines three types of ADHD: Predominantly Hyperactive/Inattentive Presentation, Predominantly Inattentive Presentation, and Combined Presentation. So what used to be called ADD is now called ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Presentation. All three types respond well to coaching.

 

* Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are used interchangeably throughout this site, although ADHD is the current medical term regardless of whether or not hyperactivity is present.