ADHD: the right care at the right time
Your ADHD support team.
Who does what? And when do I need what kind of support?
The short version:
ADHD Coaches support clients move forward. They can help clients create and take action toward their goals and/or understand what is getting in their way.
ADHD Coaches provide education and support around understanding how. ADHD symptoms might be affecting the client’s life and then help design systems and strategies to support them.
Regular appointments support accountability, skill building and momentum. Appointment times vary and are usually ½ to 1 hour weekly.
Therapists & Psychologists are trained to support mental health and crises. Therapy can support understanding trauma and emotional challenges that are impairing daily life. Usually, hour appointments on a regular basis to support daily functioning during challenging times and beyond. They can diagnose mental health disorders.
Psychiatrists prescribe medicine to manage symptoms to support mental health. Short appointments every 2–3 months depending on symptoms and medication schedule. Psychiatrists can diagnose mental health disorders.
A deeper dive:
The coaching partnership is a collaboration that fosters growth, accountability, focus and insight that move the client forward. An ADHD Coach, specifically, also supports a deeper understanding of ADHD. as the partnership explores how it may be impacting the client’s life, or the life of a loved one. Through this deeper understanding the coach supports the client as they experiment and explore the practice of skills that support them and their quality of life.
ADHD impacts self-esteem and self-worth, especially when diagnosed later in life. The coaching relationship can be a great place to navigate moving forward with the inner dialog and high self-worth we all deserve. If this negative self-image impacts daily functioning, that is when Therapy and Psychiatry are important relationships to develop.
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If you or a family member finds themselves in a crisis, a transition or in a place where your mental health, or grief is impairing your ability to function in daily life, relationships and/or work: a therapist and psychiatrists are potentially important relationships to seek out. Therapists and Psychologists and psychiatrists are imperative support for times when mental health suffers and impacts daily functioning.
Therapy by a licensed and trained psychologist supports patients to navigate depression, anxiety, eating disorders, compulsive behavior and many other mental health and emotional challenges. Patients and loved ones should be met with the greatest compassion, non-judgement and from a fully licensed professional trained to support these moments. Therapists of ADHD individuals or other neurodivergent patients need to be very literate in neurodivergence. It can take a few tries to find a good fit in a therapist/psychologist.
Not all Therapists are well trained in ADHD.
I learned that the hard way. Neurodivergence is a field that is learning and changing quickly. It is important that your entire support team is dedicated to continued learning around scientific understandings on how best to support neurodivergent brains.
Historically psychology training does not cover ADHD extensively. Some Psychologists do not get diagnosed with neurodivergence until after their schooling is finished.
Therapists & counselors will talk to their patients about the past and how it is affecting their current life. ADHD coaches are not qualified to work through the. trauma a client may have experienced, that is for a therapist.
Therapists help you unpack the past,
Coaches help move you forward.
Something to know, a busy ADHD brain has a tendency to ruminate, and an unqualified (for ADHD client) therapist can allow the client to cycle over the same thing over and over again for years. Which is a waste of time, money and ends up doing more harm than good. Please find a therapist that knows how to work with your brain specifically. It can be very helpful to have both a therapist and an ADHD Coach.
Mental health challenges are definitely exclusive to neurodivergent brains, and… ADHD rarely comes by itself. Comorbidities with anxiety, depression and eating disorders are extremely high. It is important to treat your ADHD, and that kind of treatment is likely to change throughout your life, that is why a team of support is helpful. Psychiatrists prescribe medication to support mental health challenges. Psychiatrists can diagnose mental health conditions and help people understand how medication can support them.
Psychiatric appointments are usually quite short and rarely include any therapy what-so-ever. They are doctors who support the management of symptoms through medication. Medication is an important tool for some and not for others. It is a personal choice without stigma or judgment. Everyone has a very different reaction to medication physiologically and it can take a few tries to find the right fit. It is easier to manage the role of medicine and psychiatry before a mental health crisis. I tell my clients, it doesn’t hurt to have the team assembled if you need help down the road.
All of these professional roles and spaces offer a safe place to talk about struggles. Humans are designed to be social creatures; we need sounding boards and support to get through hard times. While family and friends are an imperative part of health it can be important to have objective listeners to achieve optimal understanding and joy.
We have Primary care, we have Obgyns and we have dentists and we have optometrists etc. Our health and wellbeing deserve the right care and right team, ADHD treatment from coaches, therapists and psychiatrists can be an imperative part of that care.
