Understanding the Difference: Therapy, Life Consultation & Group Sound Baths
At Let That Shit Go, I offer a variety of services to support healing, grounding, and nervous system regulation. Some of these services are clinical (therapy), and others are non-clinical wellness offerings (like life consultation and trauma-informed sound baths). While some tools may look similar across services, how they’re used - and the type of relationship we form - makes all the difference.
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This guide will help you understand exactly what each service is, how it works, and how to choose what’s right for you. This info is specific to how I practice. Other therapists or spaces might offer similar services, but they may use them differently.
Therapy, Explained
(The Clinical Side of What I Do)
Let’s start with the basics: therapy is a clinical service - which means it’s only offered by a licensed mental health professional, guided by ethics, state laws, and the standards set by a licensing board.
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At Let That Shit Go, you will be working with me, Gina Weisman, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Therapy begins with a full mental health assessment so we can understand what you’re carrying and how it’s showing up in your life. From there, we’ll identify what your mental health diagnosis is and use that to create a treatment plan with clear, structured goals that align with both your diagnosis and the kind of symptom relief you’re hoping for. Because therapy is clinical, a mental health diagnosis is required in order to move forward.
What Makes It Therapy
In a therapy setting, we build something called a therapeutic relationship - a connection that’s supportive, yes, but also professional and legally protected.
That means:
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Confidentiality: Everything you share is protected by HIPAA and Arizona privacy laws. This means that anything you disclose in therapy stays private and secure - I legally can't share it with anyone unless you give written permission or unless legally required.
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Record Keeping: You get to have a medical record in therapy. I maintain a secure chart that includes intake paperwork, your consent to treat, treatment plans, session notes, assessments, diagnoses, and any additional required documentation (including all of our communications)
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Boundaries: The therapist-client relationship is a professional one, which means I can’t also be in a non-therapeutic role with you - like a friend, business partner, or anything else outside of this space. These boundaries are here to protect your emotional safety, hold clear structure around the work, and make sure everything we do stays ethical, intentional, and fully centered on your healing.
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Clear Goals: We’re working toward outcomes that matter to you. We check in regularly to make sure we’re on track and make adjustments as needed. As therapy progresses and goals are met, we’ll either update the plan or come to a close with care and intention.
Is Therapy Right for You?
Therapy is best suited for people experiencing mental health concerns, illness, problematic behaviors, or significant symptoms that are impacting your daily life - especially if you’re looking for long-term support, symptom relief, or space to process complex emotional and relational patterns. This is a great form of support for those wanting to look back on their past to identify what experiences have impacted them and process trauma back at the origin point.
Note: Therapy is only available to residents of Arizona.
What We’ll Work With
Once we’ve established your treatment plan, we’ll use evidence-informed tools in a clinical context (please scroll down to see more information and the breakdown of services used clinically and non-clinically) like:
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Brainspotting
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EMDR
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Parts Work
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Mindfulness
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Attachment-Based Therapy
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Imago Dialogue (for couples)
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Each of these tools is used with intention - always in alignment with your goals and always within the ethical guidelines of licensed care.
Consultation, Explained
(The Non-Clinical Side of What I Do)
If you’re not looking for therapy, but you’re craving a space to reconnect with your body, explore your inner voice, or learn regulation tools - consultation may be the perfect fit. Whether one-on-one or in a group setting, consultation at Let That Shit Go helps you build awareness, regulate your nervous system, and explore what’s present for you. While we may use some of the same tools you’d find in therapy, consultation is not mental health treatment, nor a form of care for those with mental health concerns, illness, problematic behaviors, or significant symptoms that are impacting your daily life. It isn’t regulated by the state or a licensing board, doesn’t involve a therapist-client relationship, and isn’t protected under HIPAA or other confidentiality laws. What this means is that you do not have the same patient rights, medical records, or legal protection that comes with therapy.
What Makes It Consultation
In consultation:
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We don’t complete assessments, diagnose mental health conditions, or create treatment plans with goals - we'll only focus on how your body feels coming in that day
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We won’t focus on unpacking the past - we’ll stay with the present moment and work toward where you want to go
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There’s no clinical chart or medical record. This is especially important if you are seeking services and want to explore reimbursement from your insurance company as life consultation is not a medical service, therefore not covered by insurance.
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Sessions are fluid and responsive - we follow your energy and needs in real time, not a fixed plan or care with an agenda.
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There’s no therapeutic relationship, so I’m not bound by the same legal and ethical responsibilities I hold in therapy. That said, you’ll still be met with professionalism, care, and respect.
Is Consultation Right for You?
Consultation is best suited for people who don’t want to spend time digging through the past and who aren’t really struggling with significant symptoms in daily life, they are just looking for a space to come to help calm their body, learn and practice meditation skills for managing a wandering mind or normal life stress, or who are looking to become more connected and gain a little insight into themselves. It is helpful for those focused on where they are now and how they want to move forward in life. Each session can shift based on what’s present for you in the moment because we do not follow a treatment plan - we follow what your body needs in real time. There are no required goals or expectations - only a desire to feel better or enhance yourself.
What We’ll Work With
Depending on what feels most supportive, we might work with:
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Brainspotting (in a non-clinical context; please scroll down to see the breakdown of services used clinically and non-clinically)
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Mindfulness practices + guided visualizations
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Sound vibration + somatic grounding to ping your rest and digest mechanism into gear
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Exploring your future and expanding into your desired state of being
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The goal isn’t to “fix” anything - it’s to help you feel more connected, calm, and centered.
Note: Consultation is available to clients both in and outside of Arizona.
Trauma-Informed Sound Baths, Explained
Sound healing can be powerful - but only when it feels safe. That’s why I offer trauma-informed sound baths at Let That Shit Go. These sessions are designed to support your nervous system in a gentle, choice-based space, without needing to talk, explain, or “perform healing.” Just rest, receive, and reconnect with yourself.
What Makes It Trauma-Informed?
Let’s break it down:
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Therapy is trauma-focused. In therapy, we intentionally explore your trauma stories and symptoms. We go into the past, trace the origin of distress, use tools like EMDR or Brainspotting to reprocess specific memories, and track progress toward symptom relief.
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Consultation and sound baths are trauma-informed. These services don’t process trauma directly - they acknowledge that trauma exists and can have an impact on the body resulting in a body that benefits from a more supportive setting. They’re designed with the understanding that your body may carry trauma, and that healing happens best when there’s safety, choice, and zero pressure.
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Here’s how that looks in a sound bath:
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You’ll be walked through what to expect, step-by-step
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You’ll be offered options, not requirements - like setting an intention or simply resting
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You’ll always have choice - you can give me a quiet signal (like a wave) if you’d prefer I skip playing instruments near you
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You’ll be guided through regulation techniques, like breathwork or grounding, to help your body settle
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You’ll never be asked to talk, share, or explain
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Everything is optional. Everything is at your pace. That’s what makes it trauma-informed.
What to Expect
When you arrive, I’ll welcome you into the studio and help you get comfortable. Some people like to lie on a yoga mat with blankets and pillows, while others prefer sitting in a cozy chair. Once everyone’s settled, I’ll walk you through how the sound bath will flow and offer a gentle theme or intention, like inner-child healing or Brainspotting.
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We’ll start with a simple grounding exercise before moving into sound. I play a variety of instruments - like crystal singing bowls, gong, ocean drum, chimes, rainstick, metal bowls, and tuning forks. As the sound bath unfolds, I may softly return to the intention or offer prompts to help your body receive and settle.
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Toward the end, I’ll begin to guide you back with soft tones (usually from a metal bowl), followed by a grounding exercise to help reorient to the present moment. You’ll have space to stretch, move, journal, or just sit in stillness before heading back into your day.
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Because trauma-informed sound baths are not therapy, they do not include:
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Mental health assessment or diagnosis
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Treatment planning or clinical goals
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A therapeutic relationship or clinical record
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HIPAA protection or Arizona state confidentiality laws
These are not group therapy sessions. They’re group wellness offerings - gentle, supportive, and intentionally non-clinical.
What If I’m a Therapy Client Who Wants to Attend a Sound Bath or Consultation?
This is one of the most common questions I get - and a really important one.
If you’re currently in therapy with me and are interested in attending a Life Consultation session or a Trauma-Informed Sound Bath, here’s what you need to know to protect your care and keep everything clear:
These Are Separate Services
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Therapy is a clinical service, regulated by a licensing board and state laws. It involves a therapeutic relationship focused on mental health treatment and is protected under HIPAA and confidentiality laws. We follow the structure outlined above in the “Therapy, Explained” section.
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Consultation and Sound Baths are non-clinical wellness services. They’re not regulated by the state, they don’t involve diagnosis or treatment, and they’re not protected by HIPAA. These are guided by the practices described in the “Consultation, Explained” section.
Even if some tools overlap, the purpose, structure, and ethical responsibilities are completely different.
We Can’t Blend Roles
Once we’ve entered a therapy relationship, I can’t switch roles mid-session - or at any point in the future - and start offering consultation services. That line stays clear to protect your emotional safety and keep the therapeutic space grounded and ethical.
Here’s how that breaks down:
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If you’re a current or former therapy client, individual consultation services are not appropriate.
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If you’re a current or former consultation client, therapy services are not appropriate.
Group Trauma-Informed Sound Baths
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If you’re in therapy with me and are interested in attending a group trauma-informed sound bath, we can consider it - but only with the right boundaries in place.
Here’s what that looks like:
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You’re attending as part of a group consultation experience, not a therapy session
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Our therapist-client relationship remains active - even in the sound bath space. That means we’re not forming a new relationship (like friends, collaborators, etc.) - we’re just expanding the ways we work within the container of therapy.
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I’ll never reference anything from your therapy sessions or disclose that you’re a client
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I won’t invite you into 1:1 processing during the sound bath
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You’ll never be expected or pressured to attend - this is entirely your choice
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Before attending, we’ll:
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Talk through the benefits and limitations of joining
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Decide together if it’s clinically appropriate for you
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Document it in your therapy chart for transparency and ethical care
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Follow up on the experience in your next therapy session
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If you’re in therapy, you are not required to attend a sound bath. Ever. It’s an option - not a treatment requirement. And if you're a consultation client, you won’t be able to shift into therapy at a later date, as the consultation path is specifically for those who don’t need mental health care at this time.
The Tools We Use​
While some tools may look similar across services, how they’re used makes all the difference.
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Brainspotting
In Therapy
In Life Consultation & Sound Baths
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Used individually or with a couple to support your unique mental health concerns, trauma, and past.
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May be used as a form of assessment to identify traumatic experiences or nervous system responses
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Focuses on trauma reprocessing by accessing distressing feelings in the body related to past events
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Follows goals that have been identified in your treatment plan
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​Paired with talk therapy to support verbal processing and integration
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Used individually or in a group setting to promote mindfulness, gain insight into where you want to be in the future, explore parts of yourself that may be acting as barriers
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Not used for assessment or diagnosis in any way, you will not be asked to share about your past or life circumstances
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Focuses on calm and resourcing - where in your body you feel the most grounded or safe
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Follows your present-moment experience with no predetermined goal or outcome, no expectations, and then expanded into your future and what you would like to achieve in life
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Used as a quiet, internal support for awareness - not tied to verbal exploration or processing
Mindfulness
In Therapy
In Life Consultation & Sound Baths
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Taught as a skill to regulate emotion in conjunction with learning how to apply the skills to manage your unique symptoms of mental illness
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Integrated with clinical goals (e.g., learning distress tolerance, using skills 3x a day)
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Often part of a larger treatment plan or used in conjunction with larger trauma processing and taught in context to your specific trauma​
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Offered as a generalized practice to enhance present-moment awareness, relaxation, redirection of thoughts, and clarity
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Not tied to goals - used freely based on your internal cues or preferences, or not used at all - it’s up to you with no expectations or requirements
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Stands alone as a supportive wellness tool to feel into the body and notice as the body shifts, we are simply practicing the skill without it being tied to anything specific
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Parts Work
In Therapy
In Life Consultation & Sound Baths
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Used to explore and process internal conflicts, unmet needs, or developmental trauma to support deep emotional healing, often tied to past experiences and attachment wounds
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Explored through verbal processing and trauma reprocessing (such as EMDR or Brainspotting)​​
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Focus on increasing internal awareness, insight, and imaginative connection - It’s not about processing trauma but gently noticing inner dynamics to support growth, decision-making, or self-understanding.
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Explored through gentle prompts, guided visualizations, or imagery - no clinical interpretation, just noticing and visualizing ​​
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Finding the Right Fit for You
Whether you're here for therapy, consultation, or just exploring what’s possible, my goal is always the same: to offer a space where you can reconnect with yourself in a way that feels safe, grounded, and true to your needs.
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Each service I offer is shaped with care and intention - so you can choose the path that supports where you are and where you’re headed. If you ever have questions about what’s right for you, I’m here to talk it through.
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Healing doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all. Let’s find what fits you.