Counsellor? Coach? Psychotherapist? Understanding your ADHD support options
Finding the right support for ADHD doesn’t need to feel like a maze.
Therapy, psychotherapy and counselling – are these the same thing? What is the difference between coaching and counselling, or a psychiatrist and a psychologist?
Let’s explore.
Types of ADHD therapy
Therapy supports you in processing emotions and understanding situations, to foster emotional development and growth.
Therapy is a broad word for a variety of approaches. Practitioners like counsellors, psychotherapists and psychologists use their preferred approaches to support clients. Some coaches use these approaches too.
Coaching guides you in strategies for daily tasks and reaching set obtainable outcomes.
We're here to explain and explore each role and the specific support they offer.
Coaching: Practical partnership for building ADHD management skills.
Counselling: Supportive space to explore ADHD-related feelings and challenges.
Psychotherapy: Deeper exploration of past patterns impacting ADHD experience.
The difference between psychiatrists and psychologists
Psychiatrists are medical doctors that can diagnose ADHD and prescribe medication. Psychologists work on the science of the mysteries of the mind.
Psychiatrist: Medical doctor for ADHD diagnosis and medication. Once you have access to medication, GPs can also support ADHD medication.
Psychologist: Provides ADHD assessment, diagnosis, therapy, but not medication.
ADHD coaching: Creating your toolkit for thriving
ADHD coaching focuses on practical skills.
It's often a great fit for people who are looking to build skills and strategies to navigate the unique way their ADHD presents, rather than primarily focusing on mental health challenges in the way counselling does.
A coach will help you build your own toolkit for things like:
Recognising your strengths and weaknesses, so you can find the best way to:
Get organised.
Manage time.
Set attainable outcomes.
Tackling tasks effectively.
Coaching is NOT:
Focused on mental health (that's counselling).
About providing therapy or treating emotional or behavioural challenges.
A replacement for medication in managing ADHD traits. However, if medication is the right choice for you, it can actually help integrate coaching tools into your toolkit.
Counselling: Understanding your feelings
Counselling is a professional relationship to address emotional and behavioural challenges.
For ADHD, it can help you understand and work through the stresses and emotional responses that may have developed on your life journey.
Counsellors are there to empower you. Their approach centers on you, providing a supportive space to explore your emotions. They will draw upon their training, potentially using a specific therapeutic approach.
It's important to find a professional who feels right for you. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s ok to change to another therapist.
Professional counselling focuses on:
Empowering you to develop your own resources and strategies.
Helping you focus on your feelings, experiences, and behaviour.
Creating positive change in your life.
A collaborative and respectful process.
Identifying goals and solutions with you.
Professional counselling is NOT:
Giving advice or opinions.
Judging your lifestyle or decisions.
Solving your problems from the counsellor's perspective.
A relationship where the counsellor loses professional boundaries.
Psychotherapy: Exploring your depths and patterns
Psychotherapy is similar to counselling, but often dives deeper.
It offers a supportive space where you can discuss what's troubling you and work towards positive change.
You’ll often explore the underlying patterns of behaviour and feelings that may cause distress, rather than just the immediate problems.
Psychotherapy is:
Talking, focused on understanding behaviour to create lasting change.
Concentrating on deeper aspects of your character and patterns.
Exploring ongoing issues and recurring feelings.
Examining behavioural patterns and their origins in your past.
Psychotherapy is NOT:
Primarily focused on quick, practical solutions for present-day challenges (that’s coaching).
Short-term (it often continues over months or maybe years).
Focused on managing immediate symptoms without exploring root causes.
Psychology: Understanding mind and behaviour
Psychology involves the scientific exploration of how we think and act.
Psychologists may apply a more clinical or structured approach to support people facing emotional and mental health challenges, including those related to ADHD.
A psychologist offers:
Understanding of your mind and behaviour.
Addressing a range of issues relevant to ADHD and overall mental health.
Psychological assessments for diagnosis and treatment planning.
Non-medical interventions like therapeutic support and assessment.
Psychologists do NOT:
Prescribe medication (that's a psychiatrist).
Psychiatry: Expert doctors for mental health
Psychiatrists are specialised doctors that have trained to medically treat mental and neurological health. Mental health refers broadly to ‘thoughts and emotions, where neurological health affects brain structure and its function.
Their medical background allows them to understand the intricate biological and neurological aspects of mental health.
Psychiatrists can assess and diagnose mental and neurological health, and can prescribe medication.
What psychiatrists do:
They have completed medical school and specialist training in psychiatry.
They are qualified to diagnose a wide range of mental and neurological health conditions. This includes ADHD which is medically recognised as neurological health.
They can prescribe and manage medications.
They offer comprehensive care and consider the interplay between physical and mental health in their treatment plans.
Psychiatrists:
Sometimes provide ongoing therapy. This is not usually the case, though.
Often refer to, or work with their patients GP’s for the long term management of medication.
