|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weekly ADHD Solution
|
|
|
Sign up for free, weekly email tips on managing ADHD: | |
ADHD Coaching
ADHD coaching is a specialized form of life coaching in which the coach has extensive knowledge and experience with Attention Deficit 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. The coach brings understanding, support, proven techniques, structure, accountability and the ability to get to the bottom of any issue. The client brings 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.
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. As your coach, Beth will help you fully understand how your ADHD affects you. She’ll help you create a plan. And she’ll help you stick with it. Together, we will create customized solutions that work for you.
Frequently Asked Questions about ADHD coaching:
What areas of concern can be addressed in coaching?
What if I just have ADD - with no hyperactivity?
How long will I need coaching?
Does coaching take the place of therapy?
What areas of concern can be addressed in coaching?
Areas of concern that are typically addressed in ADHD coaching include:
Understanding the nature and impact of ADHD
Setting realistic goals
Time management
Planning
Organization
Prioritizing
Productivity
Focus and distractibility
Life balance
Relationship issues
Impulsivity
Confidence
Understanding and obtaining resources for 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. The only things that are off limits are those that would be more appropriately addressed with therapy.
Why choose a certified 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.
There is presently only one independent international ADHD coach credentialing body: the Institute for the Advancement of ADHD Coaching (IAAC). An IAAC certified ADHD coach must demonstrates certain core competencies of ADHD coaching and adhere to a strict code of ethics.
Beth Main has earned the Certified ADHD Coach (CAC) credential from the IAAC.
Individual coaching for adults: One-on-one coaching that focuses on your specific needs, whether they are personal, professional, and/or academic.
Individual coaching for students: One-on-one coaching that focuses on the unique needs of a student with ADHD.
Group programs: Support groups for adults coming soon!
Business Services: ADHD training for managers, individual coaching for workplace goals, Lunch n Learns, and more.
Workshops: Beth's workshops are engaging and interactive. In addition to regularly scheduled events, she is available upon request to talk with your group about any topic related to ADHD.
Click here for options and rates.
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-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition), which is the book mental health professionals use to diagnose disorders, defines three types of ADHD: Hyperactive Type, Inattentive Type, and Combined Type. So what used to be called ADD is now called ADHD, Inattentive Type. All three types respond well to coaching.
How does ADHD coaching work?
The ADHD coaching partnership is flexible and designed to meet your needs. There are four components: discovery, regular sessions, check-ins, and email support.
Discovery is the initial session where we get to know each other and the coaching relationship is defined. We discuss what you want to achieve, where things stand now, and start to identify long term goals. A typical discovery session lasts about 90 minutes.
Regular sessions are typically 40 minutes per week. They can be conducted face to face or over the telephone. This is where we get into the details of what's behind the issues you're facing and how to solve them. We'll develop systems, devise strategies, work on skills, and talk about what’s working and what can be improved. Action items for the following week are determined and agreed upon.
Check-ins are an essential part of the coaching process. You'll send a brief status update on each action item by e-mail or telephone. This provides accountability and keeps you on track between sessions. We agree on the frequency, which could be as often as daily.
E-mail support is always available if you need help on a specific issue between sessions.
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.
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.
Does coaching take the place of therapy?
No, coaching is not a replacement for therapy. The goal of therapy is to understand and recover from painful situations that have occurred in the past. Coaching is focused on the present and future. Whereas therapy might ask "how did you get here", coaching asks "how can you move forward?"
Clients need to be ready, willing and able to work with a coach. If problems with depression or other psychological issues are inhibiting daily functioning and are not treated, coaching will not be successful. Very often the coach will work in tandem with the client's various healthcare providers to overcome these obstacles.
In an effort to understand what a coach is, it can be helpful to distinguish coaching from other professions that provide personal or organizational support*.
Therapy. Coaching can be distinguished from therapy in a number of ways. First, coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth and development based on individual-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is forward moving and future focused. Therapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict within an individual or a relationship between two or more individuals. The focus is often on resolving difficulties arising from the past which hamper an individual's emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with present life and work circumstances in more emotionally healthy ways. Therapy outcomes often include improved emotional/feeling states. While positive feelings/emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one's work or personal life. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability and follow through.
Consulting. Consultants may be retained by individuals or organizations for the purpose of accessing specialized expertise. While consulting approaches vary widely, there is often an assumption that the consultant diagnoses problems and prescribes and sometimes implements solutions. In general, the assumption with coaching is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.
Mentoring. Mentoring, which can be thought of as guiding from one’s own experience or sharing of experience in a specific area of industry or career development, is sometimes confused with coaching. Although some coaches provide mentoring as part of their coaching, such as in mentor coaching new coaches, coaches are not typically mentors to those they coach.
Training. Training programs are based on the acquisition of certain learning objectives as set out by the trainer or instructor. Though objectives are clarified in the coaching process, they are set by the individual or team being coached with guidance provided by the coach. Training also assumes a linear learning path, which coincides with an established curriculum. Coaching is less linear without a set curriculum plan.
Athletic Development. Though sports metaphors are often used, professional coaching is different from the traditional sports coach. The athletic coach is often seen as an expert who guides and directs the behavior of individuals or teams based on his or her greater experience and knowledge. Professional coaches possess these qualities, but it is the experience and knowledge of the individual or team that determines the direction. Additionally, professional coaching, unlike athletic development, does not focus on behaviors that are being executed poorly or incorrectly. Instead, the focus is on identifying opportunity for development based on individual strengths and capabilities.
* Adapted from “Frequently Asked Questions about Coaching”, International Coach Federation Branding and Marketing Subcommittee
