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www.help4adhd.org 1-800-233-4050

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W H A T W E K N O W

Coachn o Adt wthAD/HD

Coaching is a relatively new eld that has become more

prominent in recent years. In general, coaches help

individuals reach their ullest potential in lie. As a

specialty within the broader eld o coaching, AD/HD

coaching has emerged among the many approaches,

services and treatments or AD/HD. Tis sheet will:

describe AD/HD coaching and how it may help discuss who may benet rom AD/HD coaching describe the credentialing process available to AD/HD coaches provide practical suggestions or selecting a coach

COACHiNg iN gENErAl

Coaching is an emerging eld that seeks to help individuals accomplish their lie

goals. Te coaching relationship is intended to help people achieve better results

in their lives: academically, proessionally, socially, or in any area o lie they want

to improve. Trough individualized assistance and support, coaches help people

concentrate on where they are now, where they want to be, and how they can get

there.

Currently, there is no published research evaluating the eectiveness o coaching

as an intervention or individuals with AD/HD. Tere is anecdotal evidence

(reports based on individual cases rather than a research study) suggesting

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What We KnoW 18 CoaChing or adults with ad/hd 2

that coaching may be a helpul supplement to other

interventions or which there is a more established

evidence base. Tis sheet and the suggestions it oers are

based upon the emerging standards o coaching practice

and the principles o behavior change, not on scientic

literature.

WHAT is AD/HD COACHiNg?

Although the concepts o proessional and personal

coaching have been around or several decades, the

concept o AD/HD coaching was rst addressed in

the 1994 book, Driven to Distraction,1 by Edward M.

Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratey, M.D.

AD/HD coaching seeks to address the daily challenges

o living with AD/HD. A coach helps people with AD/

HD carry out the practical activities o daily lie in an

organized, goal-oriented, and timely ashion. Trough a

close partnership, an AD/HD coach helps the client learn

practical skills and initiate change in his or her daily lie.

A coach may help an adult with AD/HD:

Maintainfocustoachieveidentiedgoals

Translateabstractgoalsintoconcreteactions

Buildmotivationandlearntouserewardseectively

Trough regular interactions, coaches learn how

the symptoms o AD/HD play out in the daily lives

o their clients and then provide encouragement,

recommendations, eedback, and practical techniques toaddress specic challenges. Tey may oer reminders,

raise questions, or suggest time management methods

(see the related What We Know sheets on time

management and organizing the home and oce).

Coaches ask questions to help the client come up with

strategies and act on them. Examples o such questions

are:

Whatcanyoudoaboutit?

Howcanyoumotivateyourselftotakeactiontowards

thisgoal?

Whenmustthisactionbecompleted?

Whatstepshaveyoutakenalready,andwhenwillyou

taketheremainingsteps?

Regular meetings and check-ins are an essential part othe coaching process. Tese sessions can be conducted in

person, by phone, or by e-mail, depending on the clients

preerence. However, beore the coaching process begins,

the client and the coach should have an initial session

that addresses issues such as client needs, expectations

o the client and o the coach, and ees and payments

(coaching services are ofen not covered by traditional

health insurance). Te rst coaching session is typically

an in-depth, 1-2 hour meeting to develop a step-by-step

plan or identiying and achieving the clients goals.

WHO BENEfiTs frOm AD/HD COACHiNg?

AD/HD coaching may be benecial particularly or

adults with AD/HD. It is important that clients are ready

or coaching beore they commit to the process. Clients

are ready or coaching when they are able to admit that

they have a problem, can spend the time necessary to

create strategies or improving their behavior, and can

adhere to those strategies to the best o their ability.

OBsTAClEs TO EffECTivE COACHiNgTere are several issues that can complicate the coaching

process and ofen require a reerral to a medical or

mental health proessional:

eclientcannotusesimpleself-managementor

organizational strategies to achieve goals, despite the

coachs resources and reminders.

eclienthasaco-existingpsychiatriccondition

such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder,

substance abuse, or personality disorder.

eclienthasstressfullifecircumstancessuchas

marital problems, divorce, or death o a loved one. eclienthasaseriousphysicalillnessorother

chronic medical condition.

Under such circumstances, the coach should work

collaboratively with the medical or mental health

proessionals involved in the clients care. In such cases,

the client may benet rom the addition o traditional

treatments such as medication and psychological

therapy.

coaches learn how the symptoms

o AD/HD play out in the daily lives

o their clients and then provide

encouragement, recommendations,

eedback, and practical techniques

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AD/HD COACHiNg CrEDENTiAls

Tere is currently no specialized schooling or

licensing required to become a coach or a coach who

specializes in AD/HD. AD/HD coaches ofen have

dierent educational and proessional backgrounds

and diverse knowledge about AD/HD. Many coaches,

including those who work with individuals with

AD/HD, seek credentialing through the International

Coach Federation (ICF), an international association

o personal and business coaching that is evolving as

the principal governing body or this eld. General

requirements and more inormation on guidelines

and accredited coach training programs can be ound

on the ICF Web site (www.coachederation.org). Te

ICF recognizes AD/HD coaching as a special area o

expertise.Becausecoachingisaverybroadeldwith

many areas o subspecialty, adults with AD/HD should

ask potential coaches about their experience with

AD/HD and coach-specic training in AD/HD as well astheir credential status.

Becausethecoachingeldisstillinitsinfancy,much

remains to be done to establish practice standards and

ethics. In 2002, a task orce o coaches organized by the

Attention Decit Disorder Association (ADDA) wrote

Te Guiding Principles or Coaching Individuals with

Attention Decit Disorder.2 Tis document proposes

the essential elements o AD/HD coaching, establishes

standards, and outlines ethical principles to help people

better understand AD/HD coaching and eld standards.

Te Institute or the Advancement o AD/HD Coaching(IAAC) was ormed late in 2006 to advance the eld o

AD/HD coaching through the development and delivery

o credentialing and certication or AD/HD coaches

worldwide. Tis adds a new option or those wishing

to become AD/HD coaches, and oers people with

AD/HD new options when seeking coaches. For more

inormation, go to www.adhdcoachinstitute.org/.

inding and Choosing anad/hd CoaCh

sep oe.Coaching is a collaborative process so it

is important to nd the right match in a coach. First,

ask yoursel the ollowing questions beore contacting

prospective coaches:

Isitimportantthatmycoachingsessionsbeface-to-face?(Ifso,lookforacoachwhoisgeographically

close and oers this as part o a service package. Many

coaches conduct the initial session in person, and

then do weekly check-ins by phone and/or e-mail.)

DoIprefertobecoachedbyamanorawoman?

InadditiontothecoachsknowledgeofAD/HD,

would I benet rom a coach who has a background

inbusiness,academia,orgenderissues?

AmIlookingforsomeonewhohasexpertiseinan

areasuchasorganizationorfamilyissues?

DoIwantsomeonewhohasalotofenergy,or

someonewhotakesamoresubtleapproach? Isasenseofhumorimportant?Wouldamoreserious

personmakeabettermatch?

sep t. Compile a list o potential coaches with

training in AD/HD coaching and interview them, using

the ollowing types o questions:

Howlonghaveyoubeenacoach?

Whatisyourapproachtocoachingadultswith

AD/HD?

HowmanyclientswithAD/HDhaveyoucoached?

Haveyoureceivedformaltrainingincoaching?Did

thisincludecerticationorcredentialingofanykind?

Whatcoachtrainingcoursesorconferenceshaveyou

attended?WeretheyAD/HD-specic?

Areyouinvolvedinanylocalprofessionalcoaching

groups?AretheyAD/HD-related?

Inwhatwaysareyoucontributingtothedevelopment

oftheeldofAD/HDcoaching?

Whatisyourcondentiality/privacypolicy?

sep tee. Takenotesoneachcoachsanswerstothese

questions as well as your own overall reaction to the

personality and style o each coach.

sep . Review all o the inormation and select the

coach that best meets your needs.

COACHiNg is NOT THErApy

Coaches deal with problems in everyday living such

as organization, time management, memory, ollow-

through, and motivation. Coaches ocus on what,

Because coaching is a very broad feld

with many areas o subspecialty, adults

with AD/HD should ask potential coaches

about their experience with AD/HDas

well as their credential status.

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when and hownever why. Tey are not trained to

address psychiatric, emotional and interpersonal

problems, which should be addressed by mental

health proessionals. Trough ormal educational

programs, mental health proessionals (e.g. psychiatrists,

psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric

nurse practitioners, marriage and amily therapists)

are trained to diagnose and treat mental health issuessuch as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and

interpersonal diculties. Tey also must have a license

to practice. Terapists work primarily through ace-to-

ace contacts while many coaches also work by telephone

or e-mail.

Depending on an individuals diagnosis, the mental

health proessional may employ a number o

psychotherapeutic approaches such as cognitive-

behavior therapy and behavior modication. Te

goal o therapy is generally to help clients address the

symptoms and problems that brought them to therapyin the rst place. Ofen, mental health proessionals

take a problem-centered approach to therapy rather

than a client-centered approach; treatment lasts until

the specic problem is no longer causing signicant

impairment and disruption to the client.

I an adult with AD/HD needs assistance primarily

in dealing with the practical challenges in daily lie, a

coach may be a good person to help. I the adult needs

assistance with emotional, psychiatric, or interpersonal

problems, then a therapist should be consulted. I an

adult with AD/HD needs both types o assistance, it maybe helpul to select a coach and a therapist, and ask them

to work with each other.

summary

Although the eld o coaching is still developing and

does not yet have a research base that demonstrates its

eectiveness as an intervention or adults with AD/HD,

many adults nd that having a coach who is amiliar

with AD/HD can be helpul in acing the challenges o

daily lie. Individuals who need more inormation about

coaching should consult the resources listed below.

Becausethereisagreatneedforresearchevaluatingthe

eectiveness o AD/HD coaching, coaches and other

proessionals are strongly encouraged to pursue research

on this emerging orm o support or those dealing with

AD/HD-related challenges.

rEfErENCEs

1. Hallowell, E.M., & Ratey, J.J. (1994). Driven to distraction. NewYork:PantheonBooks.

2. ADDA Subcommittee on ADD Coaching. (2002).Te ADDAGuiding Principles or Coaching Individuals with Attention DecitDisorder. Hyde Park, IL.: Nancy Ratey & Peter Jaksa (Eds.).

suggEsTED WEB siTEs

International Coach Federation, www.coachederation.org

CHADD Directory o Proessionals, Products & Services (comingin February 2004)

suggEsTED rEADiNg

Quinn,P.O.,Ratey,N.A.,&Maitland,T.L.(2000).Coaching collegestudents with AD/HD.SilverSpring,MD:AdvantageBooks.

Quinn, P. & Ratey, N. (Eds.). (In press).AD/HD throughout theliespan: Research, diagnosis and treatment. South Easton, MA: S.C.

Publishing, Inc.

Ratey, N. (2002). Lie coaching or adult AD/HD. In Goldstein, S.&Ellison,A.T.(Eds.).Clinicians guide to adult ADHD: Assessmentand Intervention. London: Academic Press.

Te inormation provided in this sheet was supported by Cooperative

Agreement Number R04/CCR321831-01 rom the Centers orDisease Control and Prevention (CDC). Te contents are solelythe responsibility o the authors and do not necessarily representthe ofcial views o CD. It was approved by CHADDs ProessionalAdvisory Board in December 2003.

2003 Children and Adults with Attention-Decit/

Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD).

For urther inormation about AD/HD or CHADD, please

contact:

n rece Cee ad/hd

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ae-defc/hpecv de

8181 Prfssil Plc, Sui 150

Ldvr, MD 20785

800-233-4050

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Pls ls visi ChaDD Wb si

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