What is coaching?
So what exactly is coaching anyway? Oh and what's ADHD coaching? Is it counselling? Is it psychiatry? Is it consultancy? Does it replace medication?
Answer: It's none of the above. Coaching is working with a 'coachee' (client) on their present and their future. Using tools and asking the right questions to aide the coachee in finding a solution. Then offering a challenge to stretch them.
A counsellor helps with your past (and links your present and future to your past) and a psychiatrist can prescribe medication. I am not against medication but I am also not a Doctor. ADHD coaching is a deeper understanding of the issues that come with ADHD. In my case I have ideas to help you and we will work together on practical solutions.
I first heard about ADHD coaching a few years ago. I tried to find an ADHD coach in Luxembourg and couldn't find one. At the time I had a work contract so didn't think much more about it. My contract ended and ultimately I decided to train in coaching and ADHD beyond medication.
So Antonia, what exactly happens in a coaching session?
Well... In a 'standard' session a coachee will come to me with an issue. For example, they keep losing important documents and paying 'ADHD tax' (eg wasting money) on replacements. We would do an exercise together for the coachee to work out what the best solution for them is. The pictures above are from my training, doing and learning techniques. I will then offer a challenge that stretches the coachee: Collect all your important documentation together this week in 1 place for example. It is up to the coachee to decide what works for them.
Now, I choose this example particularly because I also offer a service where in this case I can provide a concertina file, label it and then when the coachee brings their documents we can 'file' them together. This saves the coachee the brain work of having to remember to source the folder/ figure out the labels and file them. This does not mean that I would tell the coachee what they should do and then help them. When someone else tells you what to do, the solution doesn't work or last long.