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Comment by stephpeng | Hacker News Reader

I’ve been diagnosed since I was a kid and I will say this is interesting. I’m glad it’s not just another AI tool claiming it can “solve ADHD” (especially the chat bots I see popping up, which I’ve tried and they aren’t good). I’ve never considered coaching seriously in the past… but can you share more about what sort of folks coaching works for and what sorts it doesn’t? And what sort of outcomes or stories you’ve seen?

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Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement: unlike most types of therapy, coaching is goal-oriented / solution-oriented and requires the member to be in a good enough space to want to look into the future & put in the work. Often members use therapy / medication in tandem with coaching.

Coaching works least effectively for those with severe comorbidities like depression/anxiety/bi-polar that are not concurrently being treated or at least do not significantly impair their day-to-day functions.

We have really extensive testimonials on our homepage (you can load more as well) but a few of my favorites are: (1) a 45-50 y/o man who got promoted after thinkng he would not ever get promoted again—now he is director level and manages dozens of reports and has a renewed sense of confidence in himself; (2) and 24-34 grad student who was able to find her dream job post-MBA after burning herself out at almost every other job she's had before and never feeling like she "fit"; her Shimmer coach helped her look at jobs that fit her unique ADHD, find ways to approach the job hunting process in a way that fit her brain, and then eventually secure that job.

"Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement"

Meaning "if our product doesn't work, it's really your fault"

Come on, that's unfair. It's one thing to be sceptical about this particular product, but the assertion that outside of a clinical, targetted environment, people need to want to receive the help they're getting to benefit is not controversial. If you obstinately refuse to read any courseware or attend any lectures, do you turn around and blame the school when you fail to learn anything from a class?

Thank you!

I read it as “you get out of it what you put into it”

Exactly. The coach cannot do the work for you, but will support you along the way.

The sentence could definitely be worded better. When I first read it, I had a similar thought, but upon further reading, I realized I was making a very large and unfair assumption. It's not exactly a secret that people who are already doing pretty well are the ones who have the energy and capacity to make further progress. Struggling with mental health issues, especially executive dysfunction, makes it harder to to do the work required to improve one's mental health. That reality is endlessly frustrating but undeniable. Someone who's not ready to move forward may not have the capacity to benefit from the structure and content of coaching. Coaching is all about taking active steps toward goals between sessions. It takes a lot of energy and effort. When I was just barely treading water, I didn't have the energy for that kind of work. I had to get to that point through therapy, support from friends, and a LOT of rest. Sure, I could have talked to my coach once a week, but I wouldn't have had the capacity to benefit as much as I do now. That doesn't mean it would have been "my fault" if I didn't benefit from coaching; it means I wouldn't have been a good fit, and Shimmer probably wouldn't have taken my money.

Thank you for sharing your thought process & feedback taken on the wording. I'll go back to this one. And I really do appreciate you sharing your personal story. Especially the last part where you acknowledge that we wouldn't have kept coaching if you weren't in the right space. This is true in that we have gently recommended pauses to several members when they weren't in the right headspace to continue with coaching and weren't in a space to benefit. This is true across most coaching modalities, in terms of the focus on forward movement and the need for the capacity to support this. I personally have both a founder coach and an ADHD coach, and can attest to the amount of work necessary outside of sessions to create sustainable results. Once again, thank you for sharing your story, and wholeheartedly agree that it's not about "fault", just about fit!

That applies to everything where you are being trained in something. My instructor can give me a practice exam, but can't take the real exam for me. A fitness trainer can go grocery shopping with me, but cannot force me to eat healthy.

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