Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the ADHD coaching questions I hear most - what coaching is, how it works, and whether it’s right for you.
About the Coaching
A practical, forward-looking partnership focused on how your ADHD brain actually works - attention, energy, emotion, follow-through - and building a life and systems that fit it. It’s not therapy, not tutoring, and definitely not generic productivity advice.
Largely, yes. Executive function coaching works on planning, starting, organising, remembering, and finishing - and that is a big part of what we do here. The difference is that we also work on the layers underneath: the nervous system that derails those skills under pressure, and the way of being built by decades of ADHD experiences. Skills stick better when the foundations hold them up.
Therapy often looks back to heal; coaching looks forward to build. Therapy treats mental-health conditions; coaching develops skills, systems, and self-understanding. Many of my clients do both - they complement each other well.
No - and that’s the wrong goal. ADHD isn’t something to fix; it’s a different operating system to understand. Two principles guide everything I do: Difference NOT Disability, and Explanation NOT Excuse.
Three things: ontological and somatic depth (we work with your way of being and your nervous system, not only your task list), an engineering background (systems thinking, root-cause discipline), and lived experience - I have ADHD, was diagnosed in adulthood, and rebuilt my own life with this work.
Ontological coaching works with who you are being, not just what you are doing - the language, moods, and standing assumptions that decades of ADHD experiences have built into you. It is the deepest layer of my training. Somatic coaching is its physical partner: ADHD lives in your nervous system - the flooding, the restlessness, the shutdowns - and somatic work builds your capacity to notice and shift those states in real time. Together they change behaviour without forcing it.
Training and credentials first. The title is unregulated, so anyone can call themselves an ADHD coach. Look for someone who trained at a specialist ADHD coach training academy that is both ICF Level 2 accredited and PAAC accredited, and who holds a current ICF membership and credential. Beyond the paperwork: ADHD-specific training rather than generic life coaching, a style that fits how your brain works, clear confidentiality, and no pressure to sign up. Most coaches offer a free first conversation - use it to test the fit, because you are choosing a working partnership, not just a qualification.
Getting Started
No. Diagnosed, self-identified, or still exploring - if the patterns fit and you want to work with your brain instead of against it, coaching can help. Nothing here requires paperwork. If you do want a formal assessment at some point, ADHD WA and ADHD Australia are good places to start. Our free ADHD self-assessment is another way in: it gives you a structured summary to take to that first appointment.
Thirty minutes, free, on Zoom. You talk about what’s going on; I listen and tell you honestly whether I can help. It’s a conversation about fit, not a coaching session - no pressure, no sales script. If we’re not the right fit, I’ll say so and point you somewhere better.
Practical Details
Most clients work with me for three to six months. You’ll usually feel the first shifts within a few weeks. The goal is always a self-sustaining system - not dependence on coaching.
Mostly over Zoom, which is how I work with clients across Australia and overseas. It works remarkably well for this work, and it means your sessions fit your life. Some in-person sessions are possible in Fremantle.
Yes - dedicated ADHD coaching for Year 11-12 students (ATAR support), university and TAFE students, parents managing households, and career changers. Parents can be involved where it helps.
It depends on the engagement - different pathways are priced differently. Get in touch or book a free discovery call and we’ll talk specifics with zero obligation. If you are employed, it is also worth knowing that the Australian Government’s Employment Assistance Fund can reimburse structured ADHD coaching - the EAF funding guide explains it in plain English.
Still Have Questions?
The discovery call exists for exactly this. Thirty minutes, free, no obligation - ask me anything. And if your question is about a specific pathway, the service pages each cover their own common questions too.