Yes, it can, absolutely. Although the training addresses the use of coaching skills within an organizing session, “stand-alone coaching” (coaching which is independent of a consulting or organizing session) is the primary focus of our training. Most stand-along sessions are conducted virtually.

Yes! We’ve had increasing numbers of international students in the last 10 years, and they have enriched the learning and perspectives for all of us. Countries represented so far include Canada, the UK, Sweden, Iceland, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Mexico, and South Africa.

There are many valuable skills and strengths that tend to be characteristic of organizing and productivity professionals: a helpful nature, clarity about physical space and time realities, experience in seeing options and evaluating choices, creative problem-solving, energy, and follow-through to get the job done. With training and experience, organizers also develop wisdom about both life management challenges and about people.

Ironically, there are times when offering these skills and strengths can be counter-productive for the client — even when the client is asking for our expertise or opinion. Traditionally, and as currently practiced, people in this field of work may include these characteristics overtly or subtly:

• Rescuing the client
• Carrying (or taking over) the client’s motivation
• Showing up as “The Expert” and inadvertently reducing opportunities for the client to identify their own strengths, and develop their own expertise about their needs, choices, and best actions
• Unintentionally reinforcing the client’s sense of impairment or incapacity through all of the above

What coaching offers are the skills to provide the space for the client to become a fully active collaborator. Coaches engage clients in deepening self-knowledge, developing decision-making skills, and in designing, using, and evaluating sustainable solutions and systems – including maintenance strategies.

Coaches who bring these skills together with their professional backgrounds offer patience, assistance and expertise while creating an environment where the client identifies their own strengths, values, and needs. Our clients can create a life that suits them fully, if we provide the support and space to learn how their abilities can support:

1. The functioning of their day-to-day lives;
2. The use and storage of their information and belongings; and
3. Attention and prioritizing of what matters most

The two roles are extremely compatible but differ in their underlying assumptions.  A brief explanation is that an organizer comes to the client offering their problem-solving expertise, while a coach offers the client a process to discover their own answers and strengths. 

Nonetheless these are two powerful and non-contradictory skill sets to combine in the service of a client.  Moving between them and choosing which to work from in a given moment takes training and practice. Learning coaching skills and coaching philosophy, and how to integrate coaching into organizing work, is part of training we offer to professionals in this particular field. We also believe that the “cross-disciplinary” approach to organizing, productivity, and ADHD/ND coaching enriches the experience of all students, whether they have an organizing background or not.

All courses are taught in English, and students need to be fluent in English for practicing coaching in their skills groups (speaking, reading and writing).

Yes! We are a Level 2 program with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and are in the process of attaining Level 1 accreditation as well.

Yes, several of our coaches are available for these kinds of inquiries. See the Find A Coach Directory for names and contact info for our previous coach training students.

Our program has a focus on working with clients who do not conform easily to neurotypical standards–in particular, adults with ADHD. \

Research suggests that less than 20% of adults with ADHD are appropriately diagnosed and treated for their symptoms. Estimates are that up to 80% of adults with ADHD also have a co-occurring condition such as autism, dyslexia, anxiety, depression, and more. Many people who are neurodivergent struggle with organizing and productivity challenges, and this often includes reaching out for professional assistance.

The above background is relevant to our mission as coach trainers: we are committed to teaching coaches to empower clients to discover their best selves and best lives. Our first foundation training course, Coaching Essentials, teaches classic coaching skills and methodology, as described in the International Coaching Federation’s Core Coaching Competencies. Our second foundation course, Strengths-Based Coaching, teaches students to use traditional coaching methods to help clients identify and use their strengths. Strengths-Based Coaching is great for anyone, but it’s essential for people with brain-based differences.

In the third foundation course, Brain-Based Coaching, coaching conversations address the impact of brain-based differences on the individual–on efforts to manage their lives and on how they work best with others. This communication is an application of coaching that is appropriate and at the same time extraordinary for people with ADHD or who are otherwise “neurodiverse.”

The fourth and fifth foundation courses continue to deepen students’ coaching competence with progressively more holistic applications. We bring in the PAAC (Professional Association of ADHD Coaches) Core Coaching Competencies, which is enhanced in significant ways (for example with greater patience and compassion).

Not all organizing and productivity specialists want to focus their businesses on clients with brain-based differences, but because they will work with a wide range of clients, it is inevitable that they will come across neurodivergent individuals. We teach coaches to understand the challenges that undermine their clients’ efforts and–like any ADHD coach–how to have appropriate, ethical, sensitive and frank conversations; make referrals; encourage the engagement of other professionals as needed; and more.

After the foundation training, the focus of advanced coach training is up to the coach. Courses allow them to immerse their coach training in the areas of organizing, productivity and/or leadership, ADHD, neurodiversity, or life coaching. Our nine credentials describe the deep areas of coach training/competence each person chooses.

Class start times are often scheduled between 12 pm noon and mid-afternoon US Eastern time during the work week (morning and midday US Pacific time). We teach virtually and meet via Zoom which makes our course offerings accessible for international students. Please reach out to the Director of Education with additional questions about our international student opportunities.

Coach Approach Training subscribes to the International Coach Federation’s (ICF) definition of coaching. The ICF is the only “independent, globally-recognized accrediting organization for coaches” and has more than 50,000 members worldwide (Feb 2023).

The ICF defines coaching as

“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative, resourceful and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach’s responsibility is to:

— Discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve
— Encourage client self-discovery
— Elicit client-generated solutions and strategies
— Hold the client responsible and accountable.

This process helps clients dramatically improve their outlook on work and life, while improving their leadership skills and unlocking their potential.”

You can get an idea of the scope of coaching expertise by reviewing ICF’s Core Competencies.

We also subscribe to and teach from the PAAC (Professional Association of ADHD Coaches) list of core competencies. They are compatible with ICF’s competencies but make some key distinctions for ADHD coaching.

Because Coach Approach Training Institute began as a coach training program for organizing and productivity professionals, the curriculum design does have some specific differences from other coach training programs:

— Our organizing and productivity students are already self-employed — or if beginners, committed to becoming self-employed. Although there are some organizer employees, these are exceptions. As a result, none of the required training is about how to market or how to run a business. We do have a great elective course Client Enrollment Best Practices that supports individuals in identifying their authentic coaching message. That said, some marketing questions or discussions may occur informally, or addressed in special interest Bonus Hours that are offered throughout the calendar year.

— The coaching examples we use (scenarios or example coaching questions) are typically related to the wide area of individual functioning: time management, getting organized, prioritization, working with individual strengths, accommodating individual challenges, the impact of brain-based differences on life management, communicating of idiosyncratic needs, identifying values & needs, delegating, boundaries, self-care strategies, etc. It isn’t until a coaching student moves into an advanced training track that they are addressing more specific scenarios. 

— Education, mental health, and other professionals benefit from exposure to the professional expertise of those who work one-on-one with people ready to take charge of their goals, and become self-aware and self-directing. Issues related to organization, prioritization, time management, and general life order will likely be brought to coaches of all backgrounds at some point in their careers. These skills and challenges do not exist in silos, but impact client lives holistically. The reverse is also true: we have broader and more useful course discussions and professional networking with a more diverse student population.