There are alternative ways to treat ADHD. When I began learning how to work with clients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, I decided to take the ADDCA course for one year because I personally am not diagnosed with ADHD. I wanted to know how to work with adults, what to ask about, what to be sensitive about, and how to move the coaching process forward. Having been a life coach at that time, I wanted to sense and understand the differences in the coaching process between what I considered regular life coaching and ADHD Coaching. I was very pleased with the ADDCA curriculum, teaching, and results.
For about three years (2004-2007), I coached people in conjunction with Neurofeedback. “Neurofeedback is a technique in which we train the brain to help improve its ability to regulate all bodily functions and to take care of itself when the brain is not functioning well”. What that means, in practice for ADHD, is that you would put two electrodes on the brain, following a planned protocol for ADHD. The client would play a video game instead of manipulating the video game by using a controller in his/her hand. The client would play the game by using the brain waves in their head. If the brainwaves were in the targeted “beta wave zone,” then the game continued. If the beta waves manifested, then the game would slow down or stop.
I believed that based on the research and the encouragement of many people in the neurofeedback community, we could see a change in people in conjunction with medication. The other clinicians related case presentations of many clients who did exceptionally well and some of them reduced or went off their medications.
I did not personally see the extraordinary results of neurofeedback. There were minor gains, but not major results. The cost of neurofeedback is expensive because one has to be available to do 40-60 sessions twice a week at a cost from $80.00 to $150.00 per session, and the bulk of the sessions are not covered by any insurance. Some psychotherapists I understood would code the session like regular therapy, but I wouldn’t because it’s unethical.
While doing Neurofeedback, I also began developing three other methods of ADHD coaching using alternative means that relied upon the mind/body connection. I began understanding that placing electrodes on a person’s head meant they had very little to do in their own treatment and a combination of coaching and alternative treatment, available to all coaches, would be worth exploring.
The first method was using the Tibetan and Crystal Bowls in accord with the chakras. The bowls relieve anxiety and stress. We know that many people with ADHD can have a dual diagnosis with anxiety. When people learn to play the bowls, they can calm their mind/body connection. Once they induce a relative calm, they are able to be coached. They can pay attention to what needs to be accomplished in life. The bowls seem to affect the solar plexus chakra where anxiety is generally located in the body.
The second method involves knowing energy technology. Instead of using electrodes and electronic games, I developed a way to clear out the “cobwebs” in a person’s brain. Some people call it “brain brightening.” I think of it as a method to clear out the gunk that accumulates in the areas of focus and attention. Some of the problem is chemical, some electrical and some perceptual.
At a recent International Coach Federation Conference, I worked with a man who was having difficulties remembering what to do. I call my method brain energy integration, http://www.brainenergyintegration.com. I asked him to consider that while I was putting energy into his frontal lobe, he was to imagine that there were windshield wipers pushing away the dust and dirt that didn’t allow him to see what was going on in his life. The wipers were working on his frontal lobe metaphorically. The result was positive.
The “how” of doing this method is about being trained in energy work and being able to generate heat and vibrations from the palm chakras. The hands are put around the client’s head (not touching the skin or the hair) and the client’s brain is heated up. The head and vibrations stimulate the frontal and pre-frontal lobes, of the brain, and appear to assist the client perceptually to sharpen and focus the persons attention.
The third method that I am using is using the chakras and life energy jewelry (www.lifeenergyjewelry.com). Most jewelry is not charged with many frequencies to help protect a person from:
o environmental hazards, such as a cell phone
o sitting in front of a computer screen or large television for a period of time
o the mp3 player
o fluorescent lights in offices and other low level electrical inputs into the physical system of a person.
My belief is that when low level electrical inputs move into the system, it triggers off many ADHD problems. Charged jewelry can relieve some of those problems. I have muscle tested hundreds of people using their cell phones, with and without charged jewelry, and almost 99% of those tested show arm weakness holding their cell phones with the other hand and then strength when they wear a charged piece of jewelry or a charged coin. In addition, the jewelry can be charged individually when working with a client to activate the frontal and pre-frontal lobes so that attention and focus are more available.