Can ADHD coaching improve frustration tolerance in adults?

PostedOctober 31, 2025

UpdatedNovember 5, 2025

ByMy Patient Advice

Author: Harriet Winslow, BSc | Reviewed by: Dr. Rebecca Fernandez, MBBS

For many adults with ADHD, frustration can build quickly. Everyday challenges like time pressure, task interruptions, or communication difficulties can feel overwhelming. This emotional intensity is often misunderstood, yet according to NICE guidance NG87 (2025), it reflects underlying differences in executive function and emotional regulation, not a lack of self-control.

In recent years, ADHD coaching has emerged as an effective complement to therapy, focusing on practical tools for emotional stability and resilience. Coaching does not replace therapy; instead, it helps adults build structured systems and behaviours that make it easier to manage frustration before it escalates.

How ADHD coaching helps build emotional control

Adults with ADHD often experience strong emotional responses to setbacks or stress. Coaching focuses on translating awareness into action through structure, accountability, and realistic goal-setting. The NHS East London Foundation Trust (ELFT, 2025) highlights that ADHD coaching can improve frustration tolerance by teaching emotion-regulation skills such as pause techniques, journaling, and mindfulness routines. These strategies help adults pause before reacting, reducing emotional burnout and impulsive behaviour.

Coaching versus therapy

While therapy focuses on emotional insight, coaching concentrates on everyday application. Coaching encourages accountability and consistency, helping adults translate therapeutic insights into daily routines. This dual approach is supported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2024), which recommends integrating practical coaching with CBT to improve emotional regulation and stress management.

The role of executive and emotional self-regulation

Evidence from the Mayo Clinic (2023) shows that structured coaching builds coping habits, increases self-efficacy, and improves self-esteem. By enhancing planning and emotional control, adults develop greater tolerance for frustration, leading to more balanced reactions in relationships and work environments.

Key takeaway

ADHD coaching provides adults with more than productivity tools; it offers emotional stability. By building routines, accountability, and mindfulness into daily life, coaching helps transform frustration into resilience. Combined with therapy and evidence-based self-regulation techniques, it empowers adults with ADHD to manage emotions with confidence and compassion.

Harriet Winslow, BSc

Author

Harriet Winslow is a clinical psychologist with a Bachelor’s in Clinical Psychology and extensive experience in behaviour therapy and developmental disorders. She has worked with children and adolescents with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disabilities, and behavioural challenges, providing individual and group therapy using evidence-based approaches such as CBT and DBT. Dr. Winslow has developed and implemented personalised treatment plans, conducted formal and informal assessments, and delivered crisis intervention for clients in need of urgent mental health care. Her expertise spans assessment, treatment planning, and behavioural intervention for both neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions.

All qualifications and professional experience stated above are authentic and verified by our editorial team. However, pseudonym and image likeness are used to protect the author's privacy.

Dr. Rebecca Fernandez, MBBS

Reviewer

Dr. Rebecca Fernandez is a UK-trained physician with an MBBS and experience in general surgery, cardiology, internal medicine, gynecology, intensive care, and emergency medicine. She has managed critically ill patients, stabilised acute trauma cases, and provided comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. In psychiatry, Dr. Fernandez has worked with psychotic, mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders, applying evidence-based approaches such as CBT, ACT, and mindfulness-based therapies. Her skills span patient assessment, treatment planning, and the integration of digital health solutions to support mental well-being.

All qualifications and professional experience stated above are authentic and verified by our editorial team. However, pseudonym and image likeness are used to protect the reviewer's privacy.