You work in one of the most intellectually competitive cities in the country. Boston runs on research, healthcare, biotech, and financial services, and whether you are at a hospital in the Longwood Medical Area, a lab in Cambridge, a fintech office downtown, or a robotics startup in the Seaport District, the professional bar is high. People around you seem to manage complexity effortlessly. They publish papers, close deals, run clinical trials, and still make it to their kid's soccer game on time. If you have ADHD, you know the gap between what you are capable of and what you consistently deliver. You have probably been masking that gap for years, relying on last-minute adrenaline, brute-force effort, or sheer intelligence to compensate. It works until it does not.

So you decide to look for help, and that is where the Boston version of the problem kicks in. There are hundreds of coaches, therapists, and wellness professionals across the Greater Boston area. Directory searches pull in results from Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville, Newton, Waltham, and Quincy all at once. Some profiles list ADHD coaching alongside executive coaching, wellness coaching, and career counseling with no way to tell how deep the specialization goes. Some are therapists who offer coaching as a secondary service. A few look genuinely specialized, but their intake forms have a two-month waitlist. You have 25 browser tabs open. You have been meaning to narrow them down for three weeks. The thing you need help with is the exact thing preventing you from getting help.

This guide covers what ADHD coaching actually is, how it differs from therapy and psychiatry, which credentials are worth your attention, how to evaluate methodology, what it costs, and how to make a decision without turning it into another research project that never reaches a conclusion.

What makes ADHD coaching different from therapy or psychiatry

Boston has some of the strongest mental health infrastructure in the country. With Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and dozens of university-affiliated clinics, access to clinical care is better here than in most cities. But that wealth of clinical resources can actually make things more confusing when you are trying to figure out what kind of support you need. Coaching, therapy, and psychiatry all exist in the same general space, and the differences matter more than most people realize.

ADHD coaching is focused on the present and the future. It is a collaborative partnership where you and your coach develop practical strategies, systems, and habits to reach your goals. Coaching is about action. You identify what you want to accomplish, figure out what keeps getting in the way, and build personalized tools for managing challenges like time awareness, task initiation, prioritization, and follow-through. A good ADHD coach works with how your brain actually functions rather than expecting you to force yourself into systems designed for neurotypical people. Neurotypical is a term that refers to someone whose brain processes attention and information in the way considered standard or typical.

Therapy addresses the emotional and psychological layers underneath. A therapist helps you process past experiences, work through anxiety or depression (both of which frequently co-occur with ADHD), and understand emotional patterns. In a city like Boston, where achievement is deeply embedded in the culture and the professional environment rewards consistent high performance, many adults with ADHD carry years of quiet frustration or shame from trying to keep pace without understanding why everything felt harder. Therapy is the right space for processing that. But therapy alone does not always give you the concrete, tactical systems for managing your calendar, staying on top of deadlines, or breaking through the inertia of task initiation.

Psychiatry handles the medical side. A psychiatrist can formally diagnose ADHD, prescribe medication, and manage your treatment plan over time. If you are exploring whether medication might help or need a formal diagnosis, that is the clinical starting point.

These three types of support work alongside each other, not in competition. Many adults with ADHD benefit from a combination. You might see a psychiatrist for medication management, a therapist for processing the emotional weight of years spent compensating, and a coach for building the daily systems that hold your professional and personal life together. In Massachusetts, therapy and psychiatry are often at least partially covered by insurance depending on your plan, and the state has relatively strong mental health parity laws. Coaching, however, is generally not covered. We will talk more about cost later.

The key thing to understand about coaching is that it is forward-looking and tactical. You are not unpacking your childhood. You are building a concrete plan for how to manage your energy, stop losing track of projects, and follow through on the things that matter most to you.

What credentials should an ADHD coach actually have

This is the single most important thing to know before you start evaluating coaches in the Boston area: the title "ADHD coach" is completely unregulated. Massachusetts has no licensing requirement for coaching, no state board, no required exam, and no minimum training hours. Anyone can create a website, list ADHD coaching as a service, and start accepting clients tomorrow. In a metro area with as many healthcare and wellness professionals as Greater Boston, that means the range in quality is enormous. And from the outside, looking at directory listings or LinkedIn profiles, it is nearly impossible to tell who has deep, verified expertise and who completed a weekend workshop.

So how do you protect yourself?

PAAC certification is one of the most reliable signals. PAAC stands for the Professional Association of ADHD Coaches. Coaches who hold PAAC certification have completed rigorous ADHD-specific training programs, logged supervised coaching hours, and demonstrated genuine competency in working with ADHD-related challenges. This is not a casual credential. It represents a serious investment in specialized education and practice.

ICF credentials are another strong indicator. The ICF, or International Coaching Federation, is the most widely recognized credentialing body in the coaching profession. An ICF-credentialed coach has completed extensive training hours, accumulated a minimum number of client coaching hours, and passed a formal evaluation process. ICF credentials alone do not guarantee ADHD expertise, but when paired with ADHD-specific training, they indicate someone who takes professional standards seriously.

NBC-HWC certification is also worth knowing about. NBC-HWC stands for National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. This is a board certification that reflects training in evidence-based coaching techniques, and when combined with ADHD specialization, it adds another verified layer of competence.

Lived experience with ADHD can make a coach more intuitive and empathetic. Many excellent coaches have ADHD themselves and bring a personal understanding of the challenges you face daily. But lived experience without professional training and a structured methodology is not sufficient on its own. You want someone who brings both personal understanding and evidence-based frameworks to the work.

Red flags to watch for:

• No specific credentials or training programs listed on their website or profile

• The only stated qualification is personal experience with ADHD

• Promises of guaranteed outcomes like eliminating procrastination or fixing distractibility

• No mention of continuing education, supervision, or a defined methodology

• A vague coaching approach that sounds more like friendly conversation than structured support

Questions to ask any coach you are considering:

• What ADHD-specific training have you completed, and through which program?

• Are you certified through PAAC, ICF, or another recognized body?

• Do you receive regular supervision or participate in peer consultation?

• What methodology or framework guides your coaching sessions?

• How do you track and measure client progress over time?

• What does support look like between sessions?

A qualified coach will welcome every one of these questions. They have invested significant time and money in building their expertise and will be happy to walk you through it. If someone gets evasive or changes the subject when you ask about their training, pay attention to that.

Why does virtual coaching work well for ADHD in Boston

Boston has a well-established public transit system compared to most American cities. The T gets you across the metro area, and commuter rail connects the suburbs. But anyone who actually relies on the MBTA knows the reality is more complicated than the map suggests. Service delays are frequent. Green Line reliability is a running joke. If your coach has an office in Back Bay and you work in Cambridge, that is a manageable trip on a good day and a 45-minute ordeal on a bad one. And if you live further out in Waltham, Lexington, or Quincy, adding transit time to a coaching session turns a one-hour appointment into a two-hour commitment.

Virtual coaching removes that friction. You can work with your coach from your apartment in South Boston, your home office in Brookline, your desk at a lab in Kendall Square, or your kitchen table in Newton. Sessions fit into the natural rhythm of your day rather than requiring you to restructure your afternoon around a commute.

But the more meaningful advantage is about quality of match, not convenience. When you are no longer limited to coaches who happen to practice within the Greater Boston area, you can match based on what actually matters: their experience with your specific type of challenge, their coaching style, and their familiarity with your industry or life stage. A coach who specializes in working with biotech researchers navigating executive function challenges at demanding institutions might be a dramatically better fit than a generalist who happens to have an office near Copley Square. Someone with deep experience supporting financial professionals with ADHD might be exactly what a portfolio manager in the Financial District needs, even if that coach is not based in Massachusetts.

Virtual coaching also helps with consistency, which is one of the hardest things to maintain when you have ADHD. Every logistical barrier becomes another reason to reschedule or cancel. When your session is a video call you can take from wherever you happen to be, the friction drops significantly. You show up more often. The coaching relationship builds momentum. Progress compounds over time instead of stalling out every time your schedule gets complicated or the Red Line breaks down.

And if a coaching relationship turns out not to be the right fit, pivoting is straightforward. You are not restarting a geographic search or committing to someone simply because their office is on your commute route. You match with a different coach and keep moving forward.

What does a strong ADHD coaching methodology look like

Methodology is the invisible difference between coaching that creates lasting change and coaching that feels like a pleasant conversation you forget about by the next morning. In a city like Boston, where the population is generally well-educated and accustomed to evidence-based approaches in healthcare and research, this distinction matters even more. You would not accept a medical treatment without an evidence base. The same standard should apply to coaching.

Evidence-based frameworks form the backbone of quality coaching. One widely used model is the COM-B framework, which breaks behavior change into three components: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. Rather than offering generic advice like "just use a planner" or "set more reminders," a coach using COM-B helps you identify whether a particular challenge stems from a skill gap (capability), an environmental barrier (opportunity), or a drive issue (motivation), and then addresses the actual root cause. Another evidence-based tool is implementation intentions, which are specific if/then plans designed to bridge the gap between wanting to do something and actually doing it. Instead of "I will work on my grant proposal this week," an implementation intention sounds like "When I sit down at my desk after my Monday morning meeting and open my laptop, I will open the proposal document and write for 30 minutes before checking email."

Structured sessions versus open conversation is one of the biggest dividing lines between quality coaching and everything else. In a structured approach, each session follows a framework. Your coach prepares. Goals carry forward from previous conversations. Progress is tracked over time. You are building on a foundation week after week rather than starting from scratch each session. Open-ended conversation can feel supportive in the moment, but without structure, it rarely produces consistent behavior change.

Between-session support matters more than most people realize. ADHD does not pause between your weekly coaching calls. New habits are fragile. Motivation fluctuates constantly. Quality coaching includes some form of ongoing connection between sessions, whether that is messaging, quick accountability check-ins, or access to a community of peers. That continuity between calls is often what determines whether a new strategy actually sticks or fades away before the next session.

Executive dysfunction-specific design is non-negotiable for ADHD coaching. Executive dysfunction refers to difficulties with the brain's management system: working memory, planning, task initiation, emotional regulation, and time awareness. Generic coaching techniques often assume a baseline level of executive function that people with ADHD do not consistently have access to. A methodology built specifically for ADHD accounts for these realities and designs systems around them rather than pretending they do not exist.

Peer community and shared learning add something that isolated one-on-one sessions cannot replicate. Connecting with other adults who face similar challenges creates accountability, normalizes the experience, and generates practical strategies you might not discover on your own. Hearing that another biotech professional or graduate researcher found a specific approach helpful carries a different weight than hearing it from a coach alone.

Ongoing coach supervision is something most people never think to ask about, but it is a significant quality indicator. Coaches who practice in isolation with no external oversight can develop blind spots or drift into outdated approaches over time. Regular supervision means a qualified professional is reviewing their work, providing feedback, and keeping them accountable to a consistent standard of care.

The frustrating reality is that none of these methodological differences are visible from a website or directory listing. Two coach profiles on the same directory can look nearly identical while representing very different levels of rigor. The only way to distinguish them is to ask the right questions.

How much does ADHD coaching typically cost

Cost matters, and it is better to go in with realistic expectations than to be surprised after your first session.

Nationally, individual ADHD coaching sessions range from about $150 to $300 per session. Monthly coaching packages, which typically include regular sessions plus some level of between-session support, tend to fall between $300 and $600 per month. Those ranges vary based on coach experience, credentials, session length, and how much support is included between calls.

Boston is one of the most expensive metro areas in the country, and that affects the coaching market. The cost of living here is significantly higher than the national average, which means coaches based in the area tend to price at the upper end of those ranges to cover their own overhead. The instinct to look for the cheapest option is understandable, especially when housing, childcare, and student loan payments are already stretching your budget. But cost and credential depth tend to correlate. Coaches who have invested thousands of dollars in ADHD-specific training, ICF certification, supervised hours, and continuing education charge more because their expertise runs deeper. That does not mean the most expensive coach is automatically the best. But consistently choosing the lowest price point increases your odds of ending up with someone who has minimal specialized training.

Insurance generally does not cover ADHD coaching. Coaching is not classified as therapy or a medical service under most plans, and Massachusetts does not currently mandate coaching coverage despite its relatively strong mental health parity laws.

FSA and HSA accounts can often be used for coaching. If your employer offers a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account, ADHD coaching may qualify as an eligible expense. This lets you pay with pre-tax dollars, effectively reducing your real cost by 20 to 30 percent depending on your tax bracket. Given the concentration of large employers in the Boston area, from hospitals and universities to biotech firms and financial companies, many of which offer strong benefits packages, this is absolutely worth checking.

When evaluating cost, it helps to weigh it against the cost of not getting support. Stalled career momentum because you cannot consistently deliver at the level you are capable of. Strained relationships from forgotten commitments. The mental and emotional weight of feeling like you are underperforming despite knowing you have the ability to do more. Effective coaching pays for itself when it helps you show up reliably in the areas that matter most to you.

How do you find and evaluate coaches in Boston

With a solid understanding of what coaching is, which credentials matter, and what strong methodology looks like, the practical search can begin. Boston's specific landscape creates a few distinct challenges worth knowing about upfront.

Where to look:

The PAAC directory (Professional Association of ADHD Coaches) is the most targeted starting point. Every coach listed there has met specific ADHD training requirements. The ICF directory is broader but useful for independently verifying credentials. There is no dedicated CHADD chapter for the Boston area currently, though CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) offers virtual meetings and national resources through their main website that can connect you with community support and firsthand recommendations.

The Boston-specific challenge:

Greater Boston has a large population of healthcare professionals, researchers, and wellness practitioners. That is a genuine advantage in terms of clinical mental health access, but it also means the coaching market includes a wide range of generalists who have added ADHD to their list of services without deep specialization. The concentration of universities and medical institutions creates a halo effect where proximity to prestigious institutions can make any practitioner seem more credible than their actual credentials warrant. Directory searches pull results from across the metro, mixing credentialed ADHD specialists with executive coaches, wellness coaches, and productivity consultants who all use similar language in their profiles. Sorting through that noise takes real effort and sustained attention.

The vetting process:

Once you have a shortlist, go beyond what their website says. Verify credentials independently through the PAAC and ICF directories. Schedule consultation calls, which most coaches offer for free or at a reduced rate. Use that conversation to ask the credential and methodology questions outlined earlier in this guide.

During a consultation, pay attention to:

• Whether they ask about your specific challenges or move straight into pitching a package

• How clearly they explain their methodology and frameworks

• Whether they mention supervision, continuing education, or structured approaches

• How natural and comfortable the conversation feels

• Whether pricing, session structure, and expectations are transparent from the start

When a match does not work out:

This happens more often than anyone talks about. You go through the whole search, commit to a coach, and after a few sessions realize the fit is off. Maybe their approach does not match how you process information. Maybe they lack depth in the specific area where you need the most support. Now you are back at the beginning. New search. New vetting calls. New financial risk. New decision fatigue. For someone with ADHD, restarting that kind of open-ended research project can feel nearly impossible, especially when you already burned through a significant amount of executive function energy the first time around.

Even with the right directories and a thoughtful approach, the full weight of research, vetting, and risk sits entirely on your shoulders. That is a heavy lift for anyone, and it is an especially demanding one when the executive function challenges you are trying to get help with are the exact same ones making sustained research feel exhausting.

Why a Shimmer ADHD coach might be the better option

Every frustration described above is why Shimmer exists. We built it because we have been through that same draining search ourselves and knew there had to be a better way to connect adults with ADHD to genuinely qualified coaching support.

The vetting is done before you ever show up. Shimmer coaches go through a selection process with a 4% acceptance rate. Every coach holds ADHD-specific credentials, whether that is PAAC certification or equivalent specialized training. They do not just get hired and left on their own. Shimmer coaches receive ongoing supervision and continuing education, which means their practice is consistently held to a high standard. The methodology is grounded in behavioral science frameworks designed specifically for how ADHD brains work, and it is consistent across the entire coaching team. For a city like Boston, where you are accustomed to evidence-based approaches and rigorous institutional standards, this level of quality control matters.

Matching is built into the system. Instead of spending weeks scrolling through directories and hoping for the best, Shimmer matches you with a coach based on your specific needs, preferences, and goals. If the match is not right, you switch. No awkward conversation. No penalty. No restarting the whole search from scratch. You match with someone new and keep building momentum. This alone changes the experience fundamentally compared to the traditional model, where a bad fit means repeating the entire exhausting process from the beginning.

The methodology extends beyond your weekly session. Shimmer's coaching approach is rooted in science-backed frameworks for behavior change and executive function support. Sessions are structured, goal-oriented, and connected from one to the next. But the support does not vanish between calls. Shimmer includes community access where you connect with other members working through similar challenges. That combination of expert one-on-one coaching and peer community creates a layer of accountability and shared learning that a single weekly session on its own cannot provide.

The financial risk is minimal. Shimmer offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing is transparent and published upfront, so you know exactly what you are committing to before you begin. Compare that to the traditional path where you might spend $300 on a first session with a coach you found through a directory, only to realize after two or three sessions that their approach does not work for your brain, and then face the prospect of spending more money to try again with someone else.

Virtual-first means all of Greater Boston is covered equally. Whether you live in Beacon Hill, work at a biotech campus in Cambridge, are based in a home office in Waltham, or split your time between the Seaport and Brookline, you get the same quality of coaching without geography being a factor. No rearranging your afternoon around an MBTA commute. No skipping sessions because the Green Line is delayed again. Just consistent, expert support that fits into your life where it already is.

Shimmer's coaches work with professionals across every industry that defines Boston's economy. Researchers and clinicians managing cognitive overload at hospitals and universities. Biotech professionals balancing detail-heavy lab work with administrative demands. Financial analysts trying to build structure into high-pressure, deadline-driven days. Software engineers at startups in Kendall Square navigating the executive function demands of fast-paced product development. Graduate students and postdocs juggling academic work alongside ADHD. The matching process takes these differences into account so you work with someone who understands your professional and personal context.

Members consistently describe the difference as significant compared to previous coaching experiences. The structured methodology, the ongoing accountability between sessions, and the ability to switch coaches without friction combine to create something that works with ADHD instead of asking you to power through a broken process just to get help.

How do you get started with ADHD coaching

Taking the first step can feel like a major decision. If you have been researching ADHD coaching for weeks or months without actually committing to anything, you are in very good company. That kind of decision paralysis is one of the most common ADHD patterns, and there is a real irony in the fact that the challenges you need help with are the same ones making it hard to seek help in the first place.

Getting started is simpler than the research process makes it seem. You sign up, get matched with a coach, and have your first session. That initial conversation is about your coach getting to know you: your goals, your challenges, what you have already tried, and where you want to focus first. You do not need to arrive with a polished list of objectives or a detailed history of your ADHD journey. Your coach is trained to guide that conversation and help you figure out where to begin.

The first few sessions are about building a foundation. You and your coach will identify what matters most to you right now and start developing strategies tailored to how your brain works. Expect it to feel exploratory at first. You are testing approaches, finding out what sticks, and building trust with someone who is going to be in your corner consistently.

Set realistic expectations. Coaching is not an overnight fix. You will not leave your first session with every executive function challenge resolved. What you will have is a structured starting point, a knowledgeable partner who understands ADHD deeply, and a framework for making steady, compounding progress. Most members start noticing meaningful shifts within the first few weeks as new strategies take hold and small wins begin to build on each other.

If you are ready to stop cycling through browser tabs and start working with a vetted, expert ADHD coach who genuinely understands how your brain works, Shimmer is a good place to begin.