A common topic that comes up in the discovery calls I have with clients is the mixed messages they get from coaches when exploring their options. Coaching is an unregulated industry, which makes doing your own due diligence before committing your money and your health essential. After 30 years in the wine trade and three years as an alcohol moderation coach, here are the ten questions worth asking.
1. Do you screen for physical dependence before recommending that someone stop drinking?
This is the question most people never think to ask, and the one that matters most. Physical dependence on alcohol is a medical condition. Abrupt cessation without proper screening can trigger withdrawal symptoms ranging from severe anxiety and tremors to, in serious cases, seizures or delirium tremens (DTs). A coach who skips this step isn’t being bold. They’re being reckless.
2. Do you explain the medical risks of stopping alcohol suddenly for heavy drinkers?
For most people, stopping or cutting back is straightforward. For someone drinking heavily and consistently, stopping suddenly carries genuine clinical risk. Any coach recommending abrupt cessation without covering this isn’t protecting you. They may simply not know enough to do so.
3. Are you qualified to advise on alcohol withdrawal, or do you refer clients to medical professionals?
Coaching and medical advice are not the same thing. A good coach knows where their competence ends. If yours hasn’t mentioned withdrawal risk, hasn’t asked about your intake history, and hasn’t pointed you towards a GP or specialist where appropriate, that’s a gap worth questioning.
4. Do you offer both moderation and abstinence as potential outcomes?
A good coach follows the evidence, not a default position. A coach who dismisses either path without clinical justification isn’t tailoring their advice to you. They’re fitting you to their methodology. The answer should reflect the individual, not the coach’s preferred methodology.
5. What evidence informs your recommended approach?
Whether a coach recommends a structured programme, a period of abstinence, or a moderation strategy, the approach should be grounded in evidence rather than personal conviction or trend. Asking this question separates coaches who’ve thought carefully about what they’re recommending from those who are following a formula.
6. How do you decide which approach is appropriate for an individual client?
A responsible coach starts with assessment, not assumption. Drinking patterns, history, triggers, lifestyle and context should all inform the recommendation. If the approach is decided before that conversation has happened, it isn’t personalised guidance. It’s a product looking for a customer.
7. What happens if someone struggles or slips during the process?
Setbacks are a normal part of behaviour change. The research is clear on that. What matters is how a coach responds to them. A structured approach to navigating difficult days and unplanned slips is a sign of a methodology built on science rather than willpower. It’s worth knowing what that looks like before you start.
8. What experience or background informs your advice on alcohol use?
Coaching is an unregulated industry. Anyone can present themselves as an authority on alcohol use without formal training, relevant experience, or an evidence base. This question isn’t impolite. It’s essential. Understanding what sits behind the advice helps you judge how much weight to give it.
9. Is your approach personalised or the same programme for everyone?
There’s a meaningful difference between a coach who starts with assessment and builds a plan around the individual, and one who applies the same template regardless of circumstance. The first is rigorous. The second is a programme in search of a participant.
10. What happens after the initial programme or challenge ends?
The programme ends. Then what? Lasting change requires understanding why the pattern developed in the first place, not just interrupting it temporarily. If your coach hasn’t addressed what comes after, the work stops when the clock does.
In the interest of transparency, if you’d like to read my own responses to these questions, click here.