Coaching vs Counseling

[LM0830]

I’d like to hear from those who have tried coaching and/or counseling. What are the pros and cons? Thanks.

[quietlylost]

I haven't tried coaching yet, so I can't offer an opinion on that. I can tell you lots about the benefits of counseling, though. In general, decide what it is you're looking for. Are you looking for accountability and support related specifically to ADHD and ADHD behaviors? Or are you looking to work through issues with relationships, past experiences, emotions, or depression/anxiety? You can technically address those issues in both, but one is more geared to some than the other.

[LM0830 in reply to quietlylost]

I want to improve my time management and organization al skills. There really isn’t a significant emotional component, except to say that I’m tired of letting people down and underperforming at my job. I started coaching about 3 weeks ago. It’s going well, just expensive.

[Netjester]

I swear by coaching along with medication. You need to retrain your brain and having someone poke you in the side to help with your learning has a huge benefit.

I’ve been with my coach for two years now and have seen a huge improvement.

[LM0830 in reply to Netjester]

That’s very encouraging. Thanks for sharing.

[Netjester in reply to LM0830]

Sorry, I wrote that from my mobile phone, so didn't get to put as much in as I would like.

Anyway, my coach does her work with me while we go on a hike. The idea is to get your brain to a point where it can only focus on the coaching part. The first 20 minutes of our session is literally hiking uphill and about the time I'm dead tired, the coaching starts. That's the part that sticks in my brain. It helps that every night I have get a reminder from her to fill out a log of every day tasks that I want to accomplish. These are fairly simple tasks like not forgetting to take my afternoon meds. Self-Affirmation Notes. Noting wins and losses. Tracking impulsiveness or angry responses, etc. We have added longer term goals to the mix, since some of the simple ones have become good habits now. I really can't stress enough how beneficial this has been in my life.

[lost2bfound in reply to Netjester]

I am very interested in your experience with coaching. I think that would be very helpful for me. How did you find your coach? Is it appropriate to ask you how expensive it is? I tried working with someone to help me get a handle on my clutter and it cost $100. and hour. Had to stop after 3 sessions because I had no more money to put to that. Since this cobid-19 I have had so much time at home. Instead of getting things caught up they have multiplied. Do you call spending time on this site a distraction? I have never ever spent so much time on my computer as I have the last week. Not just on HealthUnlocked. I would appreciate any info/advice you can give me.

[Credit in reply to Netjester]

Thank you all for all these great conversations, this community is so supportive of each other it almost feels like it could be a group coaching or group counseling platform. Speaking of which...

Has anyone tried group coaching or group counseling? I saw some options for those on a budget, but I wonder, how much people can really share when it's not a confidential one-on-one discussion?

Has anyone tried Coaching *and* Counseling (CBT for example)? (not necessarily at the same time)

What is the process concretely? What exact difference has it made for you? How sustainable has it been? What is the cost range of coaching?

Has anyone heard of any kind of "App" for ADD coaching and tested it? I am sure it's not the same as a human but just curious.

[Birdwatcher19 in reply to Credit]

Hi. I have done CBT and coaching, so I can speak to both. CBT was prior to my diagnosis. I’m a huge believer in it, as it made a meaningful difference in my anxiety and depressive symptoms. At its core, CBT teaches you to recognize and challenge your negative (distorted) thought patterns, and to reframe them in a more realistic way. After I was diagnosed with ADHD, I decided to try coaching. I started with individual sessions and then moved to group coaching. I found the individual sessions to be more helpful initially as I was learning skills and strategies to help with time management, prioritization, etc. The group felt more like a support group (which honestly was great at the start of this pandemic), but it was also helpful in terms of helping me identify my priorities for that week and providing some accountability (everyone in the group would identify a few “commitments” or the week and then report back the following week on how it went; there were also opportunities to check in with each other online during the week). As for how much people share, I think it depends on people’s personal comfort level. I was pretty much an open book in my group. I sort of looked at it as a place I could be my true ADHD self; it was very validating to talk to others who knew exactly what I was talking about. I found that most others in the group were very candid about their issues and struggles, and it made for a stronger group. Hope that helps. If you have other questions about either CBT or coaching, I’m happy to try to answer them.

[LM0830 in reply to Birdwatcher19]

Thank you for sharing your insight!

[Credit in reply to Birdwatcher19]

Thank you, this is very helpful. Have you continued with the group coaching? If no, may I ask why, and how sustainable the effects of coaching have been? May i also ask if you also used a medical treatment at the same time and seen a difference? If no medical treatment, do you feel that CBT / coaching was sufficient to make a significant improvement?

[Birdwatcher19 in reply to Credit]

I stopped the group coaching at the beginning of the summer since I don’t work over the summer and because I felt like I needed a break from it. It’s also expensive to do on a prolonged basis. I would say that the effects were somewhat sustainable in that I’ve been able to use some of the strategies learned outside of the group, but not always consistently (the old, “I know what to do but have trouble doing it”conundrum). I did take medication while I was in the group, but individual coaching was prior to starting medication. I did make some gains with just the coaching, but I felt like the combo of medication and coaching was most effective for me. Right now I’m doing neither (no medication and no coaching), and I’m doing OK with just exercise and regular meditation, but I can’t say I’m getting a lot of work done. I may go back to coaching just for some accountability. It’s a work in progress. 😊 Anyway, CBT (along with running) did significantly improve my anxiety and mild depressive symptoms, and I was able to manage those without medication, but it didn’t really help with my ADHD symptoms, which is why I ultimately decided to try a stimulant medication. I haven’t tried CBT specifically for ADHD, so I don’t know if that would be more helpful. I imagine it would be hard to find someone who specializes in that, though (therapists who use CBT techniques generally, on the other hand, are plentiful).

[Credit in reply to Birdwatcher19]

Thank you. That's what I "feared". Jogging and meditation definitely helped me too, but I was never able to get as much work done, and in a substantial manner, as with medication. I was hoping that coaching and CBT could at some point be sufficient without the need for medication. When I stopped medication 10 years ago, my work and finances went dramatically down. Since restarting, things are going a lot better, but I'd like to have more sustainable options.

[Birdwatcher19 in reply to Credit]

I hear you. Demands on my time are greatly reduced right now because of the pandemic, so I’m taking advantage to see how things go without the medication for a while, since I don’t like the idea of taking it indefinitely. I strongly suspect that I won’t be able to manage without it when things return to “normal,” though.

[MSCCC-SLP-ADHD in reply to Birdwatcher19]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I enjoy working with my CBT therapist but was interested in adding some coaching into the mix. I am glad to read that you have had positive outcomes with both!