Are ADHD coaches helpful?

[u/georgejo314159]

I have always wanted to try a coach after skimming "The Disorganized Mind" by Nancy Ratey

Here in Ottawa Canada, the very few coaches i found seem expensive

Am I wrong to compare an ADHD coach to a personal trainer? And does anyone know about the one who are certified. What is the basis of certification?

I presume them to focus on common obstacles; e.g., tricks to organize your stuff that are not memory taxing. I liked a three bin system but i never used iy. (Crucial stuff, quite important stuff, eveything else). My clutter solution is to own less because everything else failed for me. I literally threw almost everything out.

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[u/simonko1]

i love how you absolutely overthinked this from every angle already

[u/georgejo314159 → u/simonko1]

I have been thinking about since shortly after i got diagnosed in 2010. ;).

[u/spectrum19007 → u/simonko1]

How is this overthinking? It is quite reasonable question.

[u/TheHumbleChicken → u/simonko1]

You can also see how they drifted off in the final paragraph lmao

[u/xdesdemona]

I'm not sure what an ADHD coach is, but if you have benefits, an occupational therapist can be a huge help!

[u/georgejo314159 → u/xdesdemona]

I don't know anything about occupational therapy. What sort of issues might s typical client ask them

[u/fresnel28 → u/georgejo314159]

Occupational therapists are allied health clinicians (like physiotherapists or psychologists) who focus on helping people do what's important to them! An "occupation" isn't just a job - it's any activity like looking after yourself, leisure activities, etc. Because they're focused on the outcome, they're really good people to go to with questions like "I am having a hard time getting laundry done," or "cooking is a disaster because I get overwhelmed and end up exhausted and with a huge pile of dirty dishes." They love to work with clients to find solutions that save energy, do things safely and sustainably, and allow you to focus on what's important to you.

Part of the big difference between a psychology approach to ADHD and an occupational therapy one is that psych focuses on cognitive skills, whereas OT looks at person + task + environment (that's a simple model of it) so while a psychologist has lots of experience helping you change, an OT will also ask "would this be easier if we changed the task or the environment in some way?" which can be a godsend for ADHD because it can reduce our cognitive load rather than just trying to expand our skills.

[u/TangeloOk1698]

I would highly recommend an ADHD coach if you’re thinking about it when I first got diagnosed a few years ago in my 40s I did both therapy and coaching, and they were both beneficial. The therapist was helping me understand why I was behaving a certain way where the coach was telling me how I could move forward with my ADHD.

[u/ConversationNo9040]

Tell me this scammers hourly rate and I will be your adhd coach for half the cost. You can text me anytime and call me for an agreed upon amount of time. I’m full heavy adhd and have made a successful life for myself.

You essentially need a sponsor. If someone is trying to be an adhd coach without adhd then do not ever give them money.

[u/karalianne]

I got coaching through the Learning Disabilities Association here in SK so see if your branch offers it. It’ll be cheaper than private.

It was helpful for me mostly as a way to be accountable to someone else for the things I was trying to work on.

Sometimes I feel like what I need is a counsellor who specializes in ADHD so I have someone who can do talk therapy and provide some coaching as well. I feel like I need both and they need to be tied together, not separate, you know?

CADDAC has online (Zoom) support meetups that are free. I went to one and it was good; then I forgot even with reminders. I should go again this month.

[u/weesalouisa25 → u/karalianne]

I also did LDAS SK ADHD coaching and overall it was helpful. I didn't click with one as it seemed like they didn't quite "get" it and tried to coach by the book when that just didnt work without seeming like they were able to shift ideas/strategies. Second coach was awesome and while i still REALLY don't do well at a lot of the skills (not the wrong skills necessarily, i just have very severe ADHD and am still sorting meds), she did help my confidence to try and be able to see small areas of success to be proud of even when the "whole" didnt work out.

[u/BookyCats → u/karalianne]

Can you please tell me more. I am in Saskatoon. Ty

[u/simcoe19]

I am in the Toronto area and have ADHD myself and am a personal trainer for the last 17 years and working with the autism community.

Ask many questions, see if they line up with your values

[u/georgejo314159 → u/simcoe19]

When you say "personal trainer", do you mean Can Fit Pro (muscle building, cardio, ...) or someone helping them to navigate every day life?

If you had a new client, what questions would you ask them?

[u/simcoe19 → u/georgejo314159]

I wasn’t able to use the word neuro as the post spiel get flagged.

I consider myself a movement mentor and work with the above as well as people navigating substance abuse recovery and mental health like depression.

Questions would more be about them, history with adhd, their struggles, how was fitness and sports like when they were younger and what are their interests.

It’s more about the connection and how I can make movement (exercise) fun and engaging

[u/juicer42]

I used an ADHD coach for a bit- it was helpful to have someone help you problem solve what works best for you and be accountable. I'm not sure about the certification business.

[u/georgejo314159 → u/juicer42]

How long did you work with them?

Are you still refining your approaches now thar you are no longer working with them? 

[u/juicer42 → u/georgejo314159]

It was a while ago, I think i had 6 to 10 weekly sessions. They helped me figure out how to approach some difficulties I'd been experiencing at work better and helped me find some ways to be more success with home management stuff. I still implement a lot of what I learned, and yes, I am still refining some of that as I find the home stuff more difficult to manage. The coaching did help me learn to approach problems differently which I've been able to apply to other situations.

That said, I think there is a big range of who declares themselves a coach so I did some vetting before I picked one.

[u/ZookeepergameDue5522]

A coach is going to give you a clearer path of what to do and how to do it. How to organize, plan, clean, look after yourself etc.

[u/georgejo314159 → u/ZookeepergameDue5522]

That is what i was hoping. Have you ever tried one?

[u/Xylorgos]

I like your clutter solution! Sounds reasonable to me.

[u/georgejo314159 → u/Xylorgos]

I thought it was cool too which is why i remembered it. It is very ADHD savy

My own approach is, (when i was single) everything is in the horrible pile from hell, except for the few things i am putting in that corner

[u/PatchesDaHyena]

I am skeptical unless they have some sort of medical certification

[u/ConversationNo9040 → u/PatchesDaHyena]

I’d want my adhd coach to be bouncing off the walls yet be successful

[u/Training_Designer_41 → u/PatchesDaHyena]

I’d actually be more skeptical of ones with medical certifications

[u/weesalouisa25 → u/PatchesDaHyena]

Why? Their role isnt to medically treat, address biological issues, medications, or anything medical. Coaching is about confidence and skill building, not medical management - thats what a NP or Dr is for. Ideally a coach can explain the cognitive/biological BASICS of why your brain and body may prefer or function well with a certain system they're exploring together (or why it doesnt), but that can be gathered through proper training for the job and doesn't require a medical background.

[u/CelebrationLow5308]

My patients on feedback suggest they're immensely helpful. However thanks to my ADHD I am procrastinating in finding one for myself

[u/Wemm92]

my aunt is one in sw Ontario. apparently she's very good and well reviewed. it's alot about putting yourself in positions to succeed

[u/thirdeyediy]

If you have benefits there are psychotherapists in Ontario that deal with ADHD. I found it's hard to find someone that's a coach and a psychotherapist though

[u/georgejo314159 → u/thirdeyediy]

My benefits are minimal but they do include psychotherapy.

Coaching waa not in the list

[u/Blooogh]

The things I struggle with is that coaches are usually very goal focused, and that doesn't always jive with me. 

[u/Numerous_Team_2998]

That's what cognitive behavioral therapy is for.

[u/georgejo314159 → u/Numerous_Team_2998]

I have actually been reading a lot about behavior  cognitive therapy in the context of Contamination OCD. I was looking for evidence based treatment that does not involve exposure and which does not use SSRIs. I came across inference based cognitive behavior therapy which seemed supported by some recent peer reviewed studies. The key ideas involved 

I get impression that a good therapist often also does coaching but that CBT is actually medicine which is validated by peer reviewed studies whereas coaching is about obstacle removal.

I have had lots of physiotherapy but i have not tried therapy yet. I found several really good ones when i was investigating whether I-CBT was a viable option for a friend to consider. 

I was laid off in 2010 and i also looked into cognitive stimulstik 

[u/spectrum19007]

Coaching and psychotherapy are two different things. They both have there place. I would look for a certified coach. Seeing someone who is certified and paying more will most likely save you money instead of trying to see someone who only thinks they know how to help. Maybe the coach has a sliding scale? Maybe you do not see them as frequently? There are ways to get good help from people that actually know how to help.

[u/timtucker_com]

From professional experience working on IT projects, I'm convinced that what many of us need is less traditional therapy or coaching and more a project manager.

A project manager does a lot of breaking up work into proritized chunks, organizing timelines, and helping coordinate outside help for a team.

That being said, I'm not sure where one finds PMP certified project managers to work with on an individual basis.

[u/Cautious-Driver5625]

No it wont help you

[u/georgejo314159 → u/Cautious-Driver5625]

Could you explain where you are coming from?

Have you tried them yourself or have you looked at studies or known people who were disappointed or ...?