Coaching Closely related to tutoring is coaching. “Coaching
may be used as a first line treatment for patients who are reluctant to use psychotropic medications or therapy,” says
a source on the National Resource Center website on ADHD.
Not quite a therapist, a coach
is someone trained to help someone through family problems, or to coach someone with ADHD, give advice, help a person to organize
their life, talk things out and help a person with ADHD keep things in perspective.
A coach has
been described as “someone standing on the sidelines giving encouragement, instruction and reminders.” ADHD coaching
provides structure and support; also it helps a client build skills and coping
strategies It has become popular among those who may not want to use a therapist and who may not even require one, but who
need help with motivation, organization and life skills. And it deals more with
the what’s, where’s, when and how questions, while therapy delves more into the why’s.
But it is often used in conjunction with a therapist or psychologist also. Coaches are being used today in many areas of life
and are also used in helping people with ADHD or who have mental health difficulties.
Sean was a person with ADHD had been told all his life that he was no good, that he couldn’t do anything that
he would amount to nothing. He believed it and lived up to it. He didn’t have a job, never held a steady job, and really
believed that he could accomplish nothing. A mentor who served as a coach, helped him to realize that this wasn’t the case, that he did have value, that
what he had been told all his life wasn’t true. He could work if he wanted to, and he could overcome his problems.
This kind encouragement,
along with help with some practical matters of life, as well as help in overcoming certain self-destructive lifestyles, helped Sean to the point that he was able to
hold a steady job for the first time in his life. He realized that he could be successful and accomplish something and that
what he had been told most of his life wasn’t true.
A coach can provide ongoing, even daily support,
helping a client through practical areas of life and helping him or her to develop coping skills in dealing with a problem
or lifestyle. A person might utilize a coach daily, 15 or 20 minutes every day,
or once or twice a week for an hour or two.
Compassion goes
a long way for anyone going through mental health difficulties. Many adult clients
have often stated that it was a coach who was the first person to understand the frustration of their challenges, but also
they were the first person to sincerely believe all of their stories concerning their difficulties. Having a sympathetic,
non-judgmental listener, who sincerely believes one’s point of view, is
an essential component of overcoming even serious mental health disorders.
If the person with whom you might confide is also in a
position to take action, hospitalize, change one’s medications, in some way administer something that might infringe
on one’s self-determination, it can effect what is needed to keep open
communication. This is why coaching can be a positive step for open communication for many. It is said to be a relationship
“more conducive to personal encouragement and motivation than the traditional doctor/patient relationship. The skilled
coach provides an environment for open and honest communication.”
Some of the benefits of coaching are:
- It provides support.
- It helps clients identify their strengths
- It assists to guide the client and help him or her to build self-esteem
- It helps to contribute to a safe environment and can help a person out of isolation.
- It can help a client develop strategies for overcoming problems and improving the quality
of life.
A coach is there to help a client develop pragmatic solutions to problems, help
him or her with problem solving, how to get life back on track, develop a plan to accomplish his or her goals and putting
these into action, developing and implementing practical coping and healing strategies. The coach can help with specific
lifestyle issues, how to get enough sleep, good diet, keeping TV time down to a minimum, to develop an exercise schedule,
encouragement to quit smoking or keep off of alcohol or drugs. Some coaches work only by phone, some will go to your home
and help there as well in organizing bills, the home office or room, and paperwork. For some it can be a vital link of support.
Dennis
Carothers is a coach in Massachusetts, who said that he felt that for adolescents
the most important thing was that youths with such challenges needed to “recognize pressure situations at school and
at home, socially, to identify them and
reduce them.” It is “a critical first step to help them to focus.”
