|
Information & Resource
Sheet #9: Coaching and AD/HD in Adults
from the
National Resource Center on AD/HD: A Program of CHADD
http://www.help4adhd.org
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
Coaching is a relatively new field
that has become more prominent in recent years. In general,
coaches help individuals reach their fullest potential in life.
As a specialty within the broader field of coaching, AD/HD
coaching has emerged among the many approaches, services and
treatments for AD/HD. This information and resource sheet will:
-
describe AD/HD coaching and how
it may help
-
discuss who may benefit from
AD/HD coaching
-
describe the credentialing
process available to AD/HD coaches
-
provide practical suggestions for
selecting a coach
 Coaching
in General
Coaching is an emerging field that
seeks to help individuals accomplish their life goals. The
coaching relationship is intended to help people achieve better
results in their lives: academically, professionally, socially,
or in any area of life they want to improve. Through
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 effectiveness of coaching as an
intervention for individuals with AD/HD. There is anecdotal
evidence (reports based on individual cases rather than a
research study) suggesting that coaching may be a helpful
supplement to other interventions for which there is a more
established evidence base. This information and resource sheet
and the suggestions it offers are based upon the emerging
standards of coaching practice and the principles of behavior
change, not on scientific literature.
What is AD/HD Coaching?
Although the concepts of
professional and personal coaching have been around for several
decades, the concept of AD/HD coaching was first 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 of living with AD/HD. A coach helps people with
AD/HD carry out the practical activities of daily life in an
organized, goal-oriented, and timely fashion. Through a close
partnership, an AD/HD coach helps the client learn practical
skills and initiate change in his or her daily life. A coach may
help an adult with AD/HD:
-
Maintain focus to achieve
identified goals
-
Translate abstract goals into
concrete actions
-
Build motivation and learn to use
rewards effectively
Through regular interactions,
coaches learn how the symptoms of AD/HD play out in the daily
lives of their clients and then provide encouragement,
recommendations, feedback, and practical techniques to address
specific challenges. They may offer reminders, raise questions,
or suggest time management methods (see the related information
and resource sheets on time management and organizing the home
and office). Coaches ask questions to help the client come up
with strategies and act on them. Examples of such questions are:
-
What can you do about it?
-
How can you motivate yourself to
take action towards this goal?
-
When must this action be
completed?
-
What steps have you taken
already, and when will you take the remaining steps?
Regular meetings and check-ins are
an essential part of the coaching process. These sessions can be
conducted in person, by phone, or by e-mail, depending on the
client's preference. However, before the coaching process
begins, the client and the coach should have an initial session
that addresses issues such as client needs, expectations of the
client and of the coach, and fees and payments (coaching
services are often not covered by traditional health insurance).
The first coaching session is typically an in-depth, 1-2 hour
meeting to develop a step-by-step plan for identifying and
achieving the client's goals.
Who Benefits From AD/HD
Coaching?
AD/HD coaching may be beneficial
particularly for adults with AD/HD. It is important that clients
are ready for coaching before they commit to the process.
Clients are ready for coaching when they are able to admit that
they have a problem, can spend the time necessary to create
strategies for improving their behavior, and can adhere to those
strategies to the best of their ability.
Obstacles to Effective
Coaching
There are several issues that can
complicate the coaching process and often require a referral to
a medical or mental health professional:
-
The client can not use simple
self-management or organizational strategies to achieve goals,
despite the coach's resources and reminders.
-
The client has a co-existing
psychiatric condition such as depression, bipolar disorder,
anxiety disorder, substance abuse, or personality disorder.
-
The client has stressful life
circumstances such as marital problems, divorce, or death of a
loved one.
-
The client has a serious physical
illness or other chronic medical condition.
Under such circumstances, the coach
should work collaboratively with the medical or mental health
professionals involved in the client's care. In such cases, the
client may benefit from the addition of traditional treatments
such as medication and psychological therapy.
AD/HD Coaching Credentials
There is currently no specialized
schooling or licensing required to become a coach or a coach who
specializes in AD/HD. AD/HD coaches often have different
educational and professional 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 of personal and business coaching that is evolving
as the principal governing body for this field. General
requirements and more information on guidelines and accredited
coach training programs can be found on the ICF Web site
www.coachfederation.org.
The ICF recognizes AD/HD coaching as a special area of
expertise. Because coaching is a very broad field with many
areas of subspecialty, adults with AD/HD should ask potential
coaches about their experience with AD/HD and coach-specific
training in AD/HD as well as their credential status.
Because the coaching field is still
in its infancy, much remains to be done to establish practice
standards and ethics. In 2002, a task force of coaches organized
by the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) wrote "The
Guiding Principles for Coaching Individuals with Attention
Deficit Disorder."2
This document proposes the essential elements of AD/HD coaching,
establishes standards, and outlines ethical principles to help
people better understand AD/HD coaching and field standards.
Finding and Choosing an
AD/HD Coach
Step One. Coaching
is a collaborative process so it is important to find the right
match in a coach. First, ask yourself the following questions
before contacting prospective coaches:
-
Is it important that my coaching
sessions be face-to-face? (If so, look for a coach who is
geographically close and offers this as part of a service
package. Many coaches conduct the initial session in person,
and then do weekly check-ins by phone and/or e-mail.)
-
Do I prefer to be coached by a
man or a woman?
-
In addition to the coach's
knowledge of AD/HD, would I benefit from a coach who has a
background in business, academia, or gender issues?
-
Am I looking for someone who has
expertise in an area such as organization or family issues?
-
Do I want someone who has a lot
of energy, or someone who takes a more subtle approach?
-
Is a sense of humor important?
Would a more serious person make a better match?
Step Two. Compile
a list of potential coaches with training in AD/HD coaching and
interview them, using the following types of questions:
-
How long have you been a coach?
-
What is your approach to coaching
adults with AD/HD?
-
How many clients with AD/HD have
you coached?
-
Have you received formal training
in coaching? Did this include certification or credentialing
of any kind?
-
What coach training courses or
conferences have you attended? Were they AD/HD-specific?
-
Are you involved in any local
professional coaching groups? Are they AD/HD-related?
-
In what ways are you contributing
to the development of the field of AD/HD coaching?
-
What is your
confidentiality/privacy policy?
Step Three. Take
notes on each coach's answers to these questions as well as your
own overall reaction to the personality and style of each coach.
Step Four. Review
all of the information 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,
follow-through, and motivation. Coaches focus on what, when and
how -- never why. They are not trained to address psychiatric,
emotional and interpersonal problems, which should be addressed
by mental health professionals. Through formal educational
programs, mental health professionals (e.g. psychiatrists,
psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurse
practitioners, marriage and family therapists) are trained to
diagnose and treat mental health issues such as depression,
anxiety, personality disorders, and interpersonal difficulties.
They also must have a license to practice. Therapists work
primarily through face-to-face contacts while many coaches also
work by telephone or e-mail.
Depending on an individual's
diagnosis, the mental health professional may employ a number of
psychotherapeutic approaches such as cognitive-behavior therapy
and behavior modification. The goal of therapy is generally to
help clients address the symptoms and problems that brought them
to therapy in the first place. Often, mental health
professionals take a "problem-centered" approach to therapy
rather than a "client-centered" approach; treatment lasts until
the specific problem is no longer causing significant impairment
and disruption to the client.
If an adult with AD/HD needs
assistance primarily in dealing with the practical challenges in
daily life, a coach may be a good person to help. If the adult
needs assistance with emotional, psychiatric, or interpersonal
problems, then a therapist should be consulted. If an adult with
AD/HD needs both types of assistance, it may be helpful to
select a coach and a therapist, and ask them to work with each
other.
Summary
Although the field of coaching is
still developing and does not yet have a research base that
demonstrates its effectiveness as an intervention for adults
with AD/HD, many adults find that having a coach who is familiar
with AD/HD can be helpful in facing the challenges of daily
life. Individuals who need more information about coaching
should consult the resources listed below. Because there is a
great need for research evaluating the effectiveness of AD/HD
coaching, coaches and other professionals are strongly
encouraged to pursue research on this emerging form of support
for those dealing with AD/HD-related challenges.
References
1. Hallowell, E.M., & Ratey, J.J.
(1994). Driven to distraction. New York: Pantheon Books.
2. ADDA Subcommittee on ADD
Coaching. (2002). The ADDA Guiding Principles for Coaching
Individuals with Attention Deficit Disorder. Hyde Park, IL.:
Nancy Ratey & Peter Jaksa (Eds.).
Suggested Web sites
International Coach Federation,
www.coachfederation.org
CHADD Directory of Professionals, Products & Services (coming in
February 2004)
ADDitude Magazine AD/HD Coach
Directory,
www.additudemag.com
ADDA Yellow Pages, www.add.org
Suggested Reading
Quinn, P.O., Ratey, N.A., &
Maitland, T.L. (2000). Coaching college students with AD/HD.
Silver Spring, MD: Advantage Books.
Quinn, P. & Ratey, N. (Eds.). (In
press). AD/HD throughout the lifespan: Research, diagnosis and
treatment. South Easton, MA: S.C. Publishing, Inc.
Ratey, N. (2002). Life coaching for
adult AD/HD. In Goldstein, S. & Ellison, A.T. (Eds.).
Clinician's guide to adult ADHD: Assessment and Intervention.
London: Academic Press.
This information & resource
sheet was developed for the National Resource Center on AD/HD
under CDC grant R04/CCR321831-01-1 by the Attention Deficit
Disorder Association. It was approved by CHADD's Professional
Advisory Board in December 2003. Permission is hereby granted to
reproduce this document in its entirety as long as the NRC name,
contact information, and logo are included.
For further information
about AD/HD or CHADD, please contact:
National Resource Center on AD/HD
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder
8181 Professional Place, Suite 150
Landover, MD 20785
800-233-4050
www.help4adhd.org
back to the top ~
back to Breaking News
~ back to
What's New
| 