I recently read an article written by Cari Nierenberg. In the article, psychologists review why people “choke” under pressure. Nierenberg writes, “There are two main theories about why people choke: One is that thoughts and worries distract your attention from the task at hand, and you don’t access your talents. A second explanation suggests that pressure causes individuals to think too much about all the skills involved and this messes up their execution.”

We know that preparing and practicing for high-stress situations can improve performance. Coaching is a good way to do this. Everyone is familiar with the idea of athletic coaches. Some people have heard of life coaches–and maybe this brings up an image of a swami or some other existentially-focused person. At Plum Tree, coaching is none of these things. Instead, Dr. Weller uses action-oriented, straightforward, practical, and solutions-focused approaches to help adolescents meet their goals.

Coaching is an appropriate alternative to individual therapy for adolescents who are functioning well overall, but have problems in one area (e.g., poor academic progress, test anxiety, ADHD, low self-esteem). Coaching targets are usually smaller and step-oriented than in therapy. There is a narrower scope in dialogue and topics, reserved for things directly related to goal-completion. Solution-focused conversations and activities are common. While therapy has some homework, coaching has lots of homework. Coaching is usually not indicated for children under 12. Plum Tree offers two kinds of coaching: ADHD Coaching and Individual Coaching.