Personal coaching and counseling for ADD/ADHD adults

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT COACHING

Q: IS COACHING BETTER THAN COUNSELING?

A: I do both! I am a licensed therapist who has spent years developing counseling skills. Therapists have always coached, moving clients to their goals. Please note that I say, counseling is direct and based on guidance, education, cognitive and behavioral techniques. Coaches you find on-line may or may not be licensed therapists. Most are graduates of coaching programs which provide education and assist future coaches in developing counseling techniques.

Q: ISN'T PSYCHOTHERAPY SEEN AS NOT HELPFUL FOR ADD?

A: Psychotherapy is not a choice for treating ADD issues. Psychotherapy and counseling are very different. Psychotherapy and counseling are very different. Psychotherapy is an indirect technique which usually deals with "intra-psychic issues." It is practiced only in a therapist's office. Here the client makes his or her own internal connections while carefully observed by the therapist. In the dark past, before we knew about adult ADD, many experienced frustration and disappointment with this technique as inner connections can be lost just like you lose the car keys in the outer world. Bottom line, issues about ADD are neurological not intra-psychic issues.

Q: SO YOU THINK COUNSELING NOT PSYCHOTHERAPY WORKS FOR THOSE WITH ADD?

A: Yes, a diagnosis usually leads to rearranging the structure of your life. Medication helps you. Structure, if you are ADD, is difficult. An analogy I use with clients is a traffic signal. If you are discovering this condition as an adult, you have lived a long time without a mental braking system necessary to stop or inhibit some behaviors and emotions. We scanned and took things in too quickly -- much like a car that's rolling down a steep hill through a series of S-curves without and breaks. We learn to juggle many projects at once often with little attention to follow-through and detail. No Brakes! Perpetual stacks and piles of papers and assorted clutter surrounded us. No Brakes! With hyper-focus, you could compose a term paper or thesis for a full 72 hours straight! No Brakes! Counseling helps you set realistic limits. One way to think of it -- a good counselor teaches you about stop, go, and above all caution.

Q: ISN'T LOW SELF-ESTEEM AN EMOTIONAL PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE ADD?

A: It surely can be. This condition affects everyone differently. Some have very strong skill levels and hyper-focus, so perform well, say at work. Yet, relationship issues at home may be troubled. Or the other way around. It's confusing and difficult. I've found clients need to "externalize" the ADD, learn what is you, and what is ADD. In retrospect, adults view the past from the perspective of how well they did cope, and compensate given the odds.

Q: WHAT DOES HELP COST?

A: Conventional counseling by a licensed counselor or therapist runs anywhere from $70 to $120 an hour. Insurance carriers under managed care have cut or reduced mental health benefits. The consumer pays more. Coaching costs the same as therapy. Today, licensed therapists in California are now able to offer cyber-therapy to clients. Specifically clients and therapists use the internet or telephone. Several modalities of sessions: email, live or text-chat/talk sessions or videoconferencing are used.

I am excited about cyber-therapy because I feel it helps ground and focus my clients. Also, if you are a highly verbal, and distract easily, losing you subject, emailing helps you structure your thoughts. Sometimes switching from one to another modality also is stimulating.

Q: IS IT IMPORTANT THAT YOUR COUNSELOR ALSO HAS ADD?

A: When my oldest son was 14, he was diagnosed with ADD. I then discovered I, too, had ADD. I saw my son and my life in a different perspective. The physician that diagnosed us shared he was ADD. This was a boost for both of us. My personal experiences benefit clients, and I can understand many of their challenges, as "someone who has been there." Being understood is very important if you are ADD.

Q: DO I NEED AN ASSESSMENT ON FILE IF I'M ONLY GOING TO CALL ONCE IN A WHILE?

A: Do take time to complete an assessment. Even if you call now and then to brainstorm and create a strategy. Your counseling will be more meaningful and individualized.

For more information, go to our Cybertherapy page. Click here to check out our fee schedule.