ABOUT COACHING
Coaching is a collaborative partnership (an alliance rather than a legal business arrangement) between the Coach and the Client. Through a thought-provoking and creative process, it empowers the Client to unlock and maximise their personal and professional potential. The purpose of coaching is to support the Client in setting and developing personal, professional, or business goals, and in designing and implementing effective strategies to achieve them.
Therapy, which includes professions like Psychology, Counseling, Psychiatry etc, has a primary goal to improve mental health and overall well-being by exploring thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a safe, confidential environment. Therapy often focuses on understanding past experiences, identifying patterns, and developing healthier ways of thinking, coping, and relating to others.
In addition, a therapist, as part of their professional training, may ‘diagnose’ a developmental or neurological difference. A coach does not diagnose, and clients may already have a professional diagnosis when they come to an ADHD coach.
Coaching focuses more on goals and future growth, whereas therapy helps you heal traumas, make sense of past experiences, and feel more balanced in the present.
The table below outlines the key differences between Coaching and Therapy, illustrating how each offers unique benefits and how, together, they can promote comprehensive well-being that honours both past experiences and future aspirations.
How is Coaching Different to Therapy?
Coaching
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Building practical skills and strategies to manage neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and achieve goals
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Support day-to-day functioning, productivity, and self-management
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Focuses on present actions, accountability, and forward movement
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Client has inherent strengths that can be utilised as they are already 'whole'
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Conducted by trained ADHD coaches (not necessarily therapists)
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Goal-setting, strategy-building, accountability, and practical tools
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Improved daily routines, confidence, and goal achievement
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When you want to manage ADHD symptoms and improve everyday performance. Needing a sounding board for everyday life
Therapy
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Understanding and healing emotional or psychological challenges, diagnosing
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Improve mental health and emotional well-being
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Explores past experiences, emotions, and thought patterns
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Patient has emotional or psychological challenges and is in need of external healing
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Conducted by licensed mental health professionals
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Talk therapy, cognitive-behavioral techniques, emotional exploration, prescriptions
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Greater self-awareness, towards emotional healing, and mental health
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When you’re struggling with emotional distress, mental health concerns, including requiring a prescription for psychiatric medications. Needing a doctor-patient relationship
Coaching for young people looks a little different to coaching for adults. Adults usually come to coaching with clearly defined goals and motivations. For children and teenagers, the process is more gradual and relationship based.
My role is to first create a space where your child feels safe, heard, and respected. This is not about being another authority figure, another teacher, or someone who reports back on their behaviour. Instead, I work alongside them, gently and at their pace, so they can begin to share their thoughts, challenges, and experiences when they feel ready.
While parents or carers organise sessions, this time is for your teen. For coaching to be effective, young people need a sense of ownership, privacy, and independence within the process. For this reason, sessions are conducted one-on-one, without parents present.
I also follow clear ethical and legal guidelines around confidentiality. This means I do not share specific details of what is discussed in sessions, unless there is a concern around safety (such as risk of harm to themselves or others). I do, however, provide general feedback to parents where appropriate, for example, whether your child is engaging, building trust, or if it may not be the right time for coaching.
As the relationship develops, I support your child to explore what they are experiencing, make sense of their challenges, and begin developing practical strategies and tools. This is not a quick fix. It is a process focused on building self understanding, confidence, and a sense of capability.
Many neurodivergent young people, particularly those with ADHD , autism or AuDHD, experience significant self-doubt, especially during transitional periods such as starting high school. Coaching offers a safe place to land, where they are not judged or “corrected,” but supported in understanding themselves and navigating a world that doesn’t always fit them.
It’s important to understand that coaching is not the same as psychology or counselling. Coaching focuses on moving forward, supporting young people to develop skills, strategies, and confidence in the present, rather than analysing past experiences in depth.
Because young people are still developing, emotionally, socially, and neurologically, progress can take time, and sessions are often more exploratory in nature. It is important that your child is aware of, and open to, the coaching process. Their willingness to engage plays a key role in how effective coaching will be.
Coaching is not about changing who a young person is. It is about helping them understand themselves, build confidence, and develop tools to navigate environments that may not naturally support their way of thinking and functioning.
Alongside a professional background in education and women’s health services, including studying counselling at a tertiary level, I also bring lived experience to my work. I am diagnosed with AuDHD (ADHD and autism), and I parent neurodivergent teenagers. This perspective informs my approach with empathy, insight, and a practical understanding of the challenges young people and families may face.
I coach young people from High School level, around 13 years old and above. When conducting my complimentary 30-minute exploratory session for a young person, both parents/carers and their teen are on Zoom together with me. This is an opportunity to meet, ask questions, and ensures that coaching feels like the right fit for everyone involved.