The Creative ADHD Life Coach
I’m an artist, art teacher and ADHD Life Coach, and I work with creative, neurodivergent people from all walks of life.
Combining therapeutic creativity with an advanced understanding of ADHD and the coaching process, I can help you to discover your purpose, strengths, and values and understand your neurodivergent brain and how to work with it, empowering you to reach your goals and lead successful and fulfilling lives.
About me
I’m an artist, art teacher and ADHD Coach from England, living in-between Germany and England, and my biggest passion is using art and creativity as a form of art therapy: for myself, and teaching others.
I studied art and film and worked in the film industry for 6 years before reaching a stress tipping point which led me to my diagnoses of ADHD, PTSD & bipolar. Once I learnt about my conditions, especially ADHD and the Brain, it changed my life and allowed me to start down a healing path. Learning about the reasons behind my symptoms helped me to eliminate self blame and now I want to help others in their own healing journey.
My credentials
I have a National Diploma in ‘Art & Design’ from Reading College which included painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, photography, pretty much anything creative, and a Bachelors degree in ‘Film & Digital Screen Arts’. I worked in the Film & TV industry for 6 years, completed 3 online Art therapy courses, worked for 4 years as an art teacher in a german college and am now a Certified ADHD Life Coach.
What I love…
Travelling, being outdoors, hiking, climbing, camping, mountains, forests, searching for and collecting things like mushrooms, rocks and shells! Reading (actual) books - about 12 at a time that I switch between when i loose focus, hyper-focusing on new hobbies like mycology, gardening, self sufficient herbalism, astrology and magic - buying all the necessary books and equipment but never mastering them. It’s nice to have options.
What is ADHD?
ADHD can feel like a blessing, a curse, and a superpower all wrapped up in one. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the parts of the brain responsible for executive function and working memory, making everyday tasks harder, including motivation, focus, memory and task initiation. On the bright side ADHD makes for incredibly creative, individual thinkers who can view the world in a more colourful way. They just need a bit of help to understand how their brains work.
ADHD Types
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect everyone in completely different ways. That’s because there are three different types!
Hyperactive-Impulsive types are usually restless and full of energy, often blurting out their thoughts, interrupting, fidgeting, not able to sit still and struggle with self-control
Inattentive types are often prone to daydreaming, easily distracted, unable to focus, difficulty following instructions, weak working memory and often loosing things!
Combined types are usually a blend of both types.
Common Symptoms
Inattention
Difficulty focusing
Poor time management / Time blindness
Weak impulse control
Exaggerated emotions
Hyper-focus
Hyperactivity
Executive dysfunction
Poor organisational skills
Mood swings
What is an ADHD Coach?
An ADHD Coach is a thought partner who also understands how our biology works, how our brain works, how ADHD impacts not only the mind, but the emotions and the body.
Coaching worldwide is a 2.85 billion dollar industry, which is a testament to it’s effectiveness, but it's saturated with a lot of neurotypical and traditional ways of motivation and achievement.
ADHD coaching is different. It's specialised for the ADHD brain.
This means that coaches understand the intricacies of the ADHD brain and the essential tools it needs in order to provide support that can lead us to real and achievable results.
Imagine a painter is asked to paint their very best masterpiece, but instead of a paintbrush, they're given a hammer to use.
They actually do incredible, creative work with that hammer, despite the difficulties – the weight of the hammer, the strain on their wrist, the lack of control and the energy expended. The picture’s kinda cool, but it’s not quite the masterpiece they were aiming for.
But once given a paintbrush, they can reach their full potential, letting the paint smoothly flow with ease and control, transferring the vision from their head into the masterful image they were aiming for.
Trying to use a hammer to paint the masterpiece is often how many people have felt as they've tried to follow neurotypical coaching advice. It just doesn't seem to help them as much as it seems to help all the other people around them. And that makes sense because we have ADHD brains. We have brains that work differently and when we try to use the same tools as everyone else, it feels like we're holding a hammer.
What does an ADHD coach do?
Coaching is a partnership where the coach asks thought-provoking questions to increase your self awareness. They support you to see yourself as resourceful and having your own answers.
Taking ownership of your growth and personal development, you set the topic for each session. The sessions aim towards making individualised actions, habits, and systems that move you forward towards a more fulfilling life. A coach isn’t a teacher, advisor or cheerleader.
Very occasionally in ADHD Coaching, if you have a blindspot in your understanding of ADHD generally, the coach may share some information, resources or tried and tested strategies for managing ADHD. But the coach will always let you decide what you personally would like to do with that information, if anything.
The general philosophy of coaching is that having a supportive person to encourage growth is a gift, but ultimately change has to come from within..
Where does the Creative part come in?
Coaching is an exploration through conversation, but I like to offer some extra creative options, for those who want them. I believe that one of the most important things in life, for all of us, is to be creative. Releasing blocked energy through creativity is vital to finding happiness and balance.
Many people think of themselves as ‘not creative’ but this just means they’ve not found their particular medium yet. As well as coaching, I offer the option to bring in some therapeutic creativity. This might be collage, painting, drawing, playing with tarot cards, art journalling (& more)
These could be tasks and materials I send you in-between sessions, or we may use them together. We will decide how you want your sessions to look before we start together.
I can help you find and release your own creativity and find the joy in creating for therapy rather than a specific outcome.
Coaching vs Therapy
While coaching and therapy have some crossover and both aim to facilitate self awareness, personal growth and development, their focuses, approaches, and intended outcomes are generally different.
Coaching concentrates on goal achievement, performance enhancement, and skill-building, while therapy centres around resolving past issues, emotional healing, and psychological wellbeing.
What can coaching do for me?
Get to grips with your ADHD and executive function challenges
Time Management - Organisation - Motivation to Start & Finish Tasks - Prioritisation & Decision Making - Emotional Regulation - Task Transitioning - Impulse Control - Memory - Planning - Focus
Understand and utilise your ADHD strengths
Connect with and leverage your authentic interests and values
Know how to set yourself ADHD friendly goals
Develop self-accountability and your support network
Practice self-compassion and not seeing your ADHD challenges as personal failures
Learn to shift perspective when stuck in procrastination, distraction or perfectionism
Understanding your learning and processing styles/preferences
Where will the sessions be?
Our Coaching sessions will take place online through video meetings via Google meet or Zoom.
You might be wondering if Coaching is as effective online, and the answer is yes! Back in the days before internet, coaching used to happen via phone call, and even without seeing each-other it was still just as effective.
For those of you living in Rostock, in-person meetings are also available at my studio.
Who do I work with?
Anyone that feels drawn to work with me is welcome, no exclusions. We will always start with a 15 minute complimentary consultation where we can start to get to know each-other and decide if we are the right fit. However, I do feel that I could be particularly helpful to:
Creatives
Artists, Musicians, crafters, freelancers, digital nomads.... whatever your creative outlet may be. I have lived many lives and have many creative skills and job experiences under my belt and understand the ups & downs, ins & outs and have lots of tricks up my sleeves when it comes to working creatively!
Film Industry Crew
I worked as a Floor Runner for 6 years in the film & TV industry and although this brought me so many skills, experiences, contacts and memories, it was ultimately the downfall in my mental health which led me to seek diagnoses. Working in this industry is not a simple thing and i understand very well the stresses, the highs and lows and the conditions which can bring you some of the most unforgettable experiences and biggest challenges.