The demand is real. Local forums and community boards are lighting up with requests for ADHD coach recommendations, often from people who already have therapists and psychiatrists but find that clinical treatment alone doesn't solve the nuts-and-bolts challenge of, you know, keeping your life organized.

As one SF resident put it while searching for recommendations: "I want help with some of the organizational logistics of my life and while some of that is definitely covered in therapy, I feel like it would be nice to actually do those things separately."

That's a remarkably sensible take, and it reflects a broader shift in how people think about mental health support. Therapy addresses the emotional and psychological layers. Medication manages the neurochemistry. But who helps you build the actual systems — the calendars, the routines, the accountability structures — that keep you functional in a city where rent is $3,000 and your boss expects you on three Slack channels simultaneously?

Enter the ADHD coach.

Now, here's where our fiscally conservative instincts kick in: this is a largely unregulated industry. There's no required licensing for ADHD coaching the way there is for therapists or psychiatrists. That means quality varies wildly, and prices can range from reasonable to absurd. Buyers, do your homework.

But the underlying impulse is one we respect. People identifying a gap in their existing support system, then seeking a market-based solution rather than waiting for some government program to materialize? That's exactly how it should work. You're not petitioning City Hall for an Office of Executive Function. You're finding a professional, paying them directly, and getting results.

The fact that San Franciscans are openly talking about ADHD without stigma and proactively investing in their own productivity is genuinely encouraging. Just make sure you're vetting your coach as carefully as you'd vet any other professional you're handing money to. Ask about credentials, methodology, and references — because a good coach can be life-changing, and a bad one is just an expensive friend who tells you to buy a planner.