Adult ADHD Coaching: Support through daily tasks and magnificent moonshots
Have you ever heard of moonshot thinking? It means thinking big, and then thinking even bigger than that! It means striving for the biggest goal imaginable, and going for it, even when your chances of making that goal happen seem very small. When President John F. Kennedy spoke to Congress on May 25, 1961, his words came to be known as the moonshot speech. He promised that the US would land astronauts on the moon within a decade; and that’s exactly what NASA did on July 16, 1969. At the time of the moonshot speech, American engineers weren’t even close to having the know-how, or the technology, to make a moon landing possible. But thinking big pushed the dream forward, making it real.
Moonshot thinking in ADHD
Moonshot thinking is exciting and inspiring. But it’s not easy thinking in moonshots, especially if ADHD is part of your life. Maybe you struggle to meet deadlines. Maybe you turn in work that is incomplete and dotted with errors you missed. Or maybe you’re exerting so much effort to meet deadlines that there is little time for anything else in your life. Without treatment, ADHD will remind you—again and again, day after day—of all the goals you can’t seem to accomplish without huge effort, frustration, or heartache. Coaching can be an effective therapy for individuals with ADHD who want to make goals happen—not just the daily tasks, but bigger moonshots, too. At Possibilities, we now offer ADHD Coaching across the lifespan.
Here are some common questions we are asked about our ADHD Adult Coaching Program, along with our answers.
Adult ADHD Coaching is an innovative and structured program based on brain science and CBT principles. Adult ADHD Coaching can help you get started on tasks, persist with grit, and get things done. Whether it’s finishing chores, tackling school assignments, completing work projects, or achieving big dreams, our coaches can help!
Research studies show that coaching is an effective therapy in ADHD for building confidence and supporting follow-through on work and goals. With ADHD, it’s hard to stay focused on tasks and get work done, especially if tasks are demanding and not too exciting. It’s also difficult figuring out the steps needed to work through tasks, and to estimate how long those steps are going to take. Coaching is effective in ADHD because clinicians help clients tackle goals systematically by identifying concrete steps, estimating objectively how long steps are going to take, brainstorming strategies, and checking in regularly to see what worked and what didn’t. Coaching can help individuals with ADHD move forward, bringing them closer to goals and dreams.
Generally, an ADHD Coach is someone who helps people with ADD or ADHD achieve specific, meaningful goals. At the Possibilities Clinic, all our coaches are licensed health professionals. We have registered psychotherapists, registered psychologists, and registered social workers on our Coaching Team. That means our coaches—as licensed professionals—must adhere to specific health training and practice guidelines defined by their profession. Our coaches are reflective and creative in their problem-solving, informed by their deep expertise in ADHD and what the brain needs for effective scaffolding to support success.
Our coaches use various approaches—from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to Psychoeducational approaches that explain how the brain works and how specific strategies can support skills called Executive Functions. You can learn more about how CBT works here. Our coaches are experts in ADD and ADHD, so they understand that all sessions—regardless of approach—must acknowledge the brain’s need to have tasks broken down systematically. Our coaches also understand that ADD or ADHD can easily sway you from work—no matter how strong your intentions to follow through on goals may be. Our coaches will consider your personal preferences for sessions, too. For children and teens, doodling and visual notetaking are a big part of our Coaching Program. Doodling and sketchnoting are incorporated into our Adult ADHD Coaching Program, too, for adults who like to draw. Regardless of approach, the coach will speak with you about goals and expectations, discuss steps and strategies for work completion, consider challenges and distractions that are likely to get in your way, and talk with you about how you can manage obstacles when they arise.
Research studies show that ADHD Coaching is an effective therapy for children, teens, and adults, so our coaches work with individuals across these age groups. The approaches and strategies we use in our Possibilities Coaching Program are adjusted in ways that are appropriate for clients of different ages. Individuals with ADHD who struggle to stay organized and meet expectations can benefit. What these struggles look like can look different in different people. Some adults with ADHD leave work until the last minute or miss deadlines completely. Others work incredibly hard to meet deadlines but have little time for other activities, like spending time with family and friends. Working with a coach can help adults who struggle with ADHD in all kinds of ways to approach goals and meet expectations more predictably and efficiently.
In Adult ADHD Coaching, you’ll work with a coach in your first session to identify personal strengths, and review challenges that keep getting in the way of successful problem-solving. You’ll discuss some myths and facts about ADHD with your coach, too—to ensure you have the most up-to-date information about ADHD and how it may have been holding you back. Next, you’ll begin working collaboratively with your coach to craft goals and actions for achieving them.
Generally, here’s what you’ll do with your coach in our ADHD Adult Coaching Program:
- Identify 3 to 4 meaningful goals that you want to work towards
- Identify smaller steps to be taken over a specific period of time—usually a week or two—to accomplish specific goals
- Learn how to write small, easy-to-follow weekly goals or objectives
- Explore organizational tools to help you stay on track with your goals
- Use critical problem-solving skills to overcome obstacles that get in the way of your accomplishments
- Identify effective strategies that can be applied to all areas of your life
No, not entirely. Setting goals that are meaningful to you—and that you can achieve with support—is a big part of any ADHD Coaching program. But when goals become reality, you can begin to revise the stories you tell yourself about who you are, and what you’re able to accomplish. Maybe your stories have started with the words, “I can’t” or “I’ll never be able to…” When you start making goals happen, you can begin to see yourself as a person capable of achieving great things. Coaching can help success happen more consistently and more often. So no, coaching isn’t just about getting tasks done. It’s about changing self-perceptions. It’s about giving discouragement, defeat, and disappointment a much smaller role in crafting the stories you tell about who you are and what you can do. Coaching is about encouraging through success, and growing confidence and esteem along the way.
At Possibilities, we recommend booking an initial block of 16 to 20 sessions, with a session happening once per week or once every two weeks. Usually it’s best to start at a once-a-week pace to support consistent reflection and practice right from the start. There is no requirement for upfront payment, and you can discontinue or cancel sessions at any point with sufficient notice to the team. Booking 16 to 20 sessions in advance ensures that consistent days and times with the same coach or therapist are reserved for you. Sessions can be adjusted and staggered as needed to best suit your schedule, and your coach or therapist will be available to support you with any scheduling questions or changes. Each session within the block builds upon the last, starting with a progress check from the previous week. Successes and challenges are reviewed, and new strategies are devised through collaborative discussion for future improvements. Structured sessions and blocks of reserved time will allow you to set clear goals and achieve them.
Yes! Certainly you can continue with additional sessions after your initial block of 16 to 20 appointments. The next steps in your treatment plan can be discussed with your coach or therapist towards the end of your first booking block.
Sessions typically happen once a week, every one to two weeks. More than two weeks between sessions will make it difficult to determine which weekly goals were met, and which ones need to be revised. Attending an appointment once a week, or once every two weeks, will help you to monitor change at a steady pace, and make adjustments relatively quickly so new habits can form with consistent reflection and practice.
The goals covered in coaching depend on what is meaningful for each client. You may have goals that relate to work and home, and goals that relate to bigger and very personal dreams, too. For all clients, some “right now” goals are identified and tackled. But some time is spent on Moonshots, too—those long-term, big and starry dream goals that you have always wanted to accomplish. Maybe you want to be the manager of your division at work, the lead designer on your team, a published graphic novelist, or an employee who soars through probation and lands a permanent position with your dream company. At Possibilities, ADHD Coaching is about more than improving your daily functioning. It’s about creating exciting possibilities for your future, too!
In ADHD Coaching, we work collaboratively with clients to increase their chances of reaching meaningful goals successfully. We work hard to tailor your goals, and the strategies needed to get there, in ways that maximize the chances of success, keeping in mind personal strengths that can be leveraged, and anticipating challenges you are likely to encounter along the way. If well-crafted steps are followed, work gets done, and goals are met, then that’s success. And when you learn through coaching how to approach new goals systematically, then that’s success, too! Many adults we see require support when work deadlines are fast and furious. Others use coaching on an ongoing basis to stay on top of jobs that are always demanding. These decisions mark success, too. It takes great insight to know what it takes to thrive when demands are all around you. Our Adult ADHD Coaching Program is designed to support you in the ways you need.
Yes! We offer coaching services remotely through secure video sessions. Clients enjoy the convenience of this option, rather than travelling frequently to our Toronto office. We’ve expanded our reach, too. Our coaches now work with clients across Ontario—made possible by offering coaching services through secure video appointments. You must be physically present in Ontario during your video coaching sessions.
Coaching at Possibilities is provided by non-medical health professionals such as psychologists, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, and social workers. As such, these services are not covered by OHIP. Your private insurance plan may cover ADHD Coaching as a psychotherapy service.
Yes! You do not need a doctor’s referral to start working with one of our coaches.
The cost of each coaching session ranges from $200 to $280, depending on the clinician providing the service.
For more information about the Possibilities Coaching Program, please contact us at info@possibilitiesclinic.com or call 1-833-482-5558.
You can also get started right away by completing our Intake Form. Once this form is received, our Care Coordinator will review your needs, match you to an appropriate clinician, and get back to you with booking options.
