An ADHD coach is a life coach, a trained professional, who is tailored to help, specifically, anyone who has ADHD.
Coaching focuses on practical ways to problem solve within a non-judgmental safe space and allows an unconditional support to aid the general well-being and health of the client/coachee.
When we have a clearer understanding of the neurobiology and how differently our brains work, it can help to be more accepting and gentler with ourselves, and this can lead to more flourishing and less frustration.
A coach can act as a sounding board to understand how your ADHD is impacting your life while recognizing your talents and learning new strategies to prevail where you previously struggled. We can help identify goals, look to the future, make plans, get motivated, tap into your core strengths, and help you use those strengths to thrive.
The most common challenges are:
- Executive functioning
- Goal-setting
- Impulsivity
- Self-sabotage,
- Memory issues,
- Relationships
- RSD (rejection, sensitivity, dysphoria)
- Emotional dysregulation
- Time-management
- Confidence and self-belief
- Procrastination
A great coach can be there to guide you in all of these areas. They are there to encourage you to believe in yourself, even when you don’t. Imagine, how often have you had the opportunity to only focus on you while simultaneously being supported and your needs nurtured?
What are the benefits of coaching?
If you are ready for change and committed to doing the work, there are huge benefits to coaching. Maintaining a regular amount of sessions is also essential, simultaneously helping in the area of time management too!
(Typically six, one-hour, 1-1 sessions is recommended.)
Understanding yourself and your ADHD will lead to recognizing your talents and strengths, enabling you to let go of the cycle of blame. By highlighting your attributes to work alongside your personal values will empower you to combat the negative cycles and will improve motivation and enhance your potential.
Whether you are diagnosed or not, coaching has a positive impact by helping you to adopt more positive behaviours.
It can boost:
- Confidence and self-esteem
- Self-belief
- Motivation
- Problem solving
- Organizational skills and focus
- Overall well-being and sense of self
The professional medical world also advocates that coaching helps manage traits instead of, or in conjunction with, medication.
From the perspective of the client/coachee, there is no quick fix or magic wand, and personal work is required to push yourself out of your comfort zone in order to achieve the results. As a coach, I would provide extra work outside of the sessions if I felt it would be beneficial to the client.
The bonus is you are working alongside someone supportive who has a deeper understanding of the issues you encounter.
As a trained and accredited ADHD coach (Association for Coaching), the impact I experienced during my training and since has been life-changing. During my practice sessions, I witnessed the whole coaching magic come to life. The benefits were symbiotic, and my confidence grew. I am now accepting of who I am, with ADHD, and I’m able to reframe the negative opinion I had of myself with positive input. To be able to help others with ADHD using the training and skills I have acquired is incredibly rewarding.
Life will still throw the odd curveball, but the difference is, with all the knowledge and experience, I am able to tap into all my wonderful resources to deal with the issue at hand.
Carole is based in the Tavira area; if you have any questions, queries, pricing, or would like to book a discovery call, please contact me through my website.
You can also find me listed in the classified section. I look forward to hearing from you!
Author disclaimer: Coaching isn’t therapy or counselling.
Footnote: I would like to elaborate on my previous article on Adult ADHD and Coaching (May 2 edition), that didn’t make the print.
I stated that people are born with ADHD but neglected to add that approximately 74% can be born with ADHD due to genetics or embryonic trauma. However, it is suspected to be a combination of genetic and environmental influences that can also increase a person’s chance of developing the condition.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/causes-of-adhd#prenatal-factors
Photo credit: ©Nik 2024 and ©Josh Hild, respectively.
This blog entry appeared in The Portugal Resident, May 2024.
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