What is an ADHD Coach (and When You Need Them vs. Therapy)
Your ADHD brain is amazing at coming up with creative solutions, hyperfocusing on things you love, and thinking outside the box. It's also probably terrible at getting you out the door on time, finishing projects, and remembering where you put your keys literally five minutes ago.
Sound familiar? If you've been diagnosed with ADHD and you're sitting there wondering whether you need a therapist, a coach, or maybe both, you're asking exactly the right questions.
But the answer depends on what kind of support you're actually looking for.
What is an ADHD Coach?
Think of an ADHD coach as a personal trainer for your brain—except, instead of working out your biceps, you’re strengthening your executive functioning skills and building systems that actually work with your ADHD brain instead of fighting against it 24/7.
ADHD coaching is practical, present-focused, and action-oriented. It's about figuring out how to manage your daily life more effectively—from getting out the door on time to actually finishing projects that matter to you (instead of that thing where you start 47 different projects and finish exactly zero of them).
Your ADHD coach helps you develop personalized organization systems that make sense for how YOUR brain works. They create routines that actually stick—yes, even with ADHD—and build time management strategies that don’t make you want to throw your planner out the window.
They break overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, offer body doubling sessions where you work on stuff together in real-time, and meet with you multiple times per week for ongoing support and real-time adjustments.
Your ADHD coach is supposed to hold you accountable. When you don’t follow through on something, they’ll help you figure out why it didn’t work and what to try next. They can push you, challenge you, and keep you on track—because that’s literally their job.
What is ADHD Therapy?
Now, ADHD therapy goes way deeper than day-to-day management. While a therapist can help with some practical strategies, therapy is more about addressing the emotional and psychological stuff that comes with living with ADHD—and there's usually a lot of it.
ADHD therapists work through ADHD-related shame, anxiety, or depression. They address the impact of late diagnosis or years of feeling "different" and not knowing why. They help you process relationship challenges related to ADHD symptoms, treat other mental health conditions that often come along for the ride, and explore how ADHD has affected your sense of self.
Here's the key difference: your therapist is supposed to be a safe, supportive space where you know that even if you mess up or don't do your "homework," it's completely okay.
They're not the right person to hold you accountable because that would mess up the therapeutic relationship. Therapy needs to feel safe from judgment or pressure.
How They're Different (Because This Gets Confusing)
Now, the goal isn’t to have you scratching your head, wondering which is which. Here’s what you need to know about each, broken down by key things such as accountability, main focus, session style, frequency, and timeline of your work together:
| ADHD Coach | ADHD Therapist | |
|---|---|---|
| Accountability | ✅ Will hold you accountable | ❌ Safe space, no pressure |
| Main Focus | Getting stuff done | Processing emotions |
| Session Style | Hands-on, action-oriented | Talk-based, exploratory |
| Frequency | Multiple times per week | Usually once per week |
| Timeline | Shorter-term (3-6 months) | Varies (can be long-term) |
So, Which One (Coach or Therapist) Do you Actually Need?
Okay, so now that you know what each one does, how do you figure out which one you actually need right now? Here’s the honest breakdown…
Choose ADHD coaching when you want someone to actually call you out when you don’t do the thing you said you’d do. You need help with organization, time management, or just generally getting your life together. You’re ready to take action, but need someone to guide you and keep you on track. You want frequent check-ins because once a week just isn’t enough support for your ADHD brain.
Choose ADHD therapy when you’re drowning in shame about having ADHD or feeling like you’re broken somehow. You need to process the emotional stuff about your diagnosis, especially if you were diagnosed later in life. You’re dealing with relationship issues where ADHD is playing a role. You have anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns alongside ADHD.
You might need both when you want practical strategies and emotional support. You’re working through mental health stuff while also trying to build life skills. You benefit from different types of support at different times, or you just want all the help you can get (and honestly, that’s totally valid).
How We Support ADHD at Ditch The Couch
At Ditch The Couch, we get that ADHD affects literally every aspect of your life, and we're here to help with the therapeutic side of things.
Our therapists actually understand ADHD (shocking, we know) and can help you work through the emotional impacts of living with an ADHD brain, process any shame or anxiety around your diagnosis, and navigate the relationship stuff that often gets complicated when ADHD is in the mix.
We focus on helping you understand how ADHD shows up in your specific life, building some actual self-compassion (instead of that harsh inner critic), and developing a healthier relationship with your wonderfully chaotic ADHD brain.
If you're looking for the coaching side of things—the practical, day-to-day management support—we can definitely help you figure out what resources might be most helpful for your specific situation (like Your Brain Bestie, ADHD Coaching for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs)
You're Not Failing If You Need Help With Your ADHD
There's no wrong choice here, and you're not failing if you need help figuring out which one makes sense. Some people need the emotional processing that therapy provides. Others need the practical, hands-on support that coaching offers. Plenty of people benefit from both, either at different times or simultaneously.
The most important thing is getting support that actually understands how ADHD brains work and doesn't try to make you into a neurotypical person (because that's not happening, and honestly, why would you want to be?).
Your brain isn't broken—it just works differently. And there are people out there who not only get that but want to help you figure out how to make it work for you instead of against you.
Curious about ADHD therapy and want to figure out what kind of support actually makes sense for your life? Reach out for a free consultation, and let’s talk about how we can help you thrive with your beautifully ADHD brain!