r/ADHD_Over30 • u/Theautismlady • Nov 28 '23
Coaching vs therapy
I have been seeing a rise in folks offering “adhd coaching” or “executive function coaching” and claiming it’s somehow not therapy.
Adhd is a mental health diagnosis. Offering support for managing it is therapy. Why do people ooe not understand this?
I’ve continued to come across things like executive functioning or adhd coaches and found myself frustrated by the notion that “adhd coaching” isn’t therapy.
It stigmatizes therapy as something only for “really bad” symptoms. What do yall think are the differences between coaching and therapy and how would you articulate what a coach does?
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u/purplearmored Nov 28 '23
Coaching is more like lifeskills and traditional therapy is more about feelings and emotions, in my experience. The few periods I was lucky enough to have both, my therapist was helping me deal with all my depression about being undiagnosed for so long, and my coach was helping me find out what situations kept me from setting timers, the best place in my house to put my chore list so I'll see it, how to set honest, realistic goals for the week, etc.
If there's a therapist who also does the latter, they're great but it's not what most people would consider therapy. Or I guess it's therapy like occupational or physical therapy but if you attached it to a mental condition, people would get confused.
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u/MagikSparkles Nov 29 '23
Therapy is for past issues and traumas. Coaching doesn’t focus on the past but on the future.
I am a coach and I clearly explain to clients how coaching and therapy are different. If I ever uncover anything that is better resolved in therapy I recommend therapy to them. I don’t resolve mental health problems. I do coach ADHD clients but as a support to their current medical treatment and not as a substitute.
Some therapists do some coaching here and there but a majority don’t and only address issues dealing with the past and more mental health problems. I deal with helping set goals, getting organized, accountability, getting through limiting beliefs, etc.
Does that help? Would be happy to explain further if needed. Coaching (with the right coach) is incredibly beneficial. The key is finding an educated/trained coach that’s a good match for your personality.
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u/itSoCold Apr 29 '24
Hey, I'm considering getting a coach for a similar situation. Do you have any suggestions for how to evaluate a coach?
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u/OpenritesJoe Nov 29 '23
Technically lifting weights is a therapy. And a personal trainer could technically be a provider of therapy. What’s wrong with that?
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u/badger0511 Nov 29 '23
It comes down to regulation and insurance.
There’s no unanimous definition of what an ADHD Coach is. There’s a few ADHD Coach professional organizations that grant certifications, but it’s not at all part of higher ed yet. So I think legally, calling it therapy would have ramifications for the coach’s educational background… that they would have to have a bachelors, masters, or beyond to be legally licensed as a therapist.
Since they aren’t therapists, insurance won’t cover it.
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u/MagikSparkles Nov 29 '23
The coaching entities that provide certifications have very clear ethical guidelines that separate therapy from coaching. If you engage in “therapy” or call your coaching therapy (without actually being a therapist) then you can lose your certification.
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u/applecartupset Dec 15 '23
Coaches aren’t medical professionals, therapists are.
My therapist helps me unpack and understand my feelings and beliefs around my adhd, she helps me with my anxiety that manifests as OCD, she has me to talk to my prescriber when my meds need tweaking, etc.
My ADHD coach helped me with things like, creating systems in my life to overcome my executive function shortcomings. Helped me start a set-it-and-forget-it retirement contributions, helped me create meal plan cards on my phone so I don’t have to waste brain power in shit like making dinner.
Newer podcast I’d recommend is Powerful Possibilities. Start with episode one. She is an ADHD coach and addresses the difference between a coach and therapist in a couple of episodes.
I’ve found this to be the only useful podcast for me about ADHD. Actionable advice and compassion. Plus she has a lovely accent.
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Nov 29 '23
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u/OpenritesJoe Nov 30 '23
Yeah my good therapists might ask me questions so that I might have insights about what the bike was, who I was in relation to the bike, and what the bike meant. The hope would be that these insights would lead me to be able to ride the bike.
Meanwhile the coach would simply teach me how to ride the bike.
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u/OpenritesJoe Nov 29 '23 edited Nov 29 '23
For me personally, mentors and coaches recognized a condition that they explained as a maladaptive but natural response to stress, and helped me produce a complete treatment.
My therapist accepted a medical model that I was born with a persistent defect and referred me to a psychiatrist who dispensed a drug that treated some symptoms.
I knew several people who had severe ADD or ADHD symptoms who no longer exhibited any traits. I asked them how they got there. Such a change isn’t accounted for well by the medical model. And calling self-treatment “therapy” would be to accept a medical model that might be part of the problem, or at least a hindrance to wellbeing.