Evidence-based ADHD coaching research has been scarce, and I am excited to share the results of a new ADHD Coaching Study on Adult ADHD that was recently published.
Thank you to Elizabeth Ahmann, ScD, RN, PCC, NBC-HWC and Micah Saviet, MSW, LCSW-C, NBC-HWC for permission to share their research and encouraging results with my readers.
A recent study of coaching for adults with ADHD reports encouraging results!
Researchers Elizabeth Ahmann, ScD, RN, PCC, NBC-HWC and Micah Saviet, MSW, LCSW-C, NBC-HWC and statistician Mark Otto, MSt studied the impact of 12 sessions of ADHD coaching for adults.
Participating study coaches had ADHD coach training, were experienced, credentialed by ICF and/or PAAC, and followed a set of previously developed guidelines for the 12-session engagement, aligned with typical ADHD coaching approaches.
You can find the guidelines here and read about their development here.
Forty-three clients, recruited by participating coaches, and meeting pre-established eligibility criteria, completed the 12 sessions of coaching and the pre- and post-coaching data collection.
At the end of 12 sessions of coaching, participants expressed satisfaction with goal attainment, and the group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in ADHD symptoms, executive functioning, and functional impairment, using well-regarded, validated measurement tools.
The improvements in these key areas had medium to large effect sizes, comparable to the use of medication or CBT.
To learn more about the study, published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, you can read the abstract and purchase a copy here. You can also find the author’s accepted manuscript (missing a few corrections that are part of the final version) at no charge here.
This report is just a part of the larger mixed-methods study funded by the IOC/ICF coaching research grant program, which is led by the Institute of Coaching and funded by the International Coaching Federation.
The authors plan to publish findings related to the following additional topics: whether the gains made during the period of coaching were sustained over a six-week post-coaching period; interview data about the client experience; how clients who had experienced both coaching and therapy compared the two; and theoretical frameworks identified in the interview data.