Quick Answer
Treating conditions at the root means working with the patterns and stored experience underneath anxiety, depression, trauma, and related struggles — not only managing the symptoms. At Angeles Psychology Group, conditions are understood as meaningful responses, and depth and somatic modalities are matched to each presentation. APG provides psychotherapy and does not prescribe medication.
Key Takeaways
- Symptoms are often intelligent responses to real experience — a doorway to the pattern, not the problem itself.
- Anxiety, depression, complex trauma, adult ADHD, and burnout each have a root that depth and somatic work can reach.
- APG is a psychology practice and does not prescribe; where medication is relevant, care is coordinated with your own prescriber.
- Sensitive struggles are handled with care, and crisis resources are always provided — you never have to be in crisis to benefit.
- Approaches are matched and screened at a free consultation; no single approach fits everyone.
01 — OverviewThe cost of managing symptoms forever
There is a particular fatigue that comes from years of symptom management — coping skills practiced, episodes weathered, and a quiet sense that the underlying thing was never reached. Treating a condition at the root starts from a different premise: that the symptom is meaningful. Anxiety points somewhere. Low mood is often grief or anger that has nowhere to go. The work is to follow the symptom to its source so the nervous system can reorganize, rather than bracing against the same return.
This pillar covers the conditions APG treats this way — anxiety, depression, complex trauma, adult ADHD, burnout, and more — each as a guide that reframes the struggle and explains how depth and somatic work reaches it. A note that governs all of them: APG provides psychotherapy and does not prescribe medication; where medication is relevant, we coordinate with your own prescriber.
Root-cause treatment of mental-health conditions. Treating a condition at the root means following the symptom to the pattern and the held experience underneath — so change can be durable, not just managed.
Related services: Therapy Services · Sexual Trauma Therapy · Anxiety Therapy
The Conditions (Depth-Oriented) Library
32 in-depth guidesThis page is the hub for everything APG publishes on root-cause treatment of mental-health conditions. Each guide goes deeper on a single sub-topic — start with the cornerstone guides, then follow the threads that fit your situation. Every guide links back here and out to the relevant service, so you can move from understanding to a first conversation.
Cornerstone Guides
Browse the Full Library
More Guides
- Adult ADHD: Beyond the Shame NarrativeUpdated Jun 26
- Burnout and the Nervous SystemUpdated Jun 26
- Disordered Eating: A Compassionate, Root-Cause ViewUpdated Jun 26
- Borderline Patterns: Understanding Emotional IntensityUpdated Jun 26
- Narcissistic Abuse RecoveryUpdated Jun 26
- Self-Esteem: Building It From the Inside OutUpdated Jun 26
- Grief That Doesn't Follow the RulesUpdated Jun 26
- Sleep, Anxiety, and the Overactive MindUpdated Jun 26
Going Deeper
- Emotional Dysregulation: Riding the WaveUpdated Jun 26
- Shame Resilience: From Hiding to WholenessUpdated Jun 26
- Life Transitions: Reorienting When Everything ShiftsUpdated Jun 26
- Existential Anxiety and the Search for MeaningUpdated Jun 26
- Chronic Illness and the Emotional BodyUpdated Jun 26
- Sexual Trauma: Healing Power and SafetyUpdated Jun 26
- Self-Harm: Understanding and Compassionate CareUpdated Jun 26
- Anger as Information: Transforming the SignalUpdated Jun 26
Related Topics
- Obsessive Patterns and the Need for CertaintyUpdated Jun 26
- Avoidant Patterns and the Fear of ClosenessUpdated Jun 26
- Perfectionism and the Cost of Never EnoughUpdated Jun 26
- Seasonal Mood Shifts and LightUpdated Jun 26
- Workplace Stress and the High-Functioning AdultUpdated Jun 26
- Financial Stress and Emotional WellbeingUpdated Jun 26
- Divorce and Rebuilding a SelfUpdated Jun 26
- Parenting Stress and the Pressure to Get It RightUpdated Jun 26
02Anxiety and depression as messengers
Anxiety treated only as a malfunction tends to recur; treated as a signal, it becomes workable. The same is true of depression, which often masks grief, anger, or unmet need beneath a flat surface. Depth and emotion-focused work help reach the feeling underneath — and somatic work addresses the version of the symptom your body is holding, which talk alone can miss.
Source: American Psychological Association — Psychotherapy effectiveness
03Complex trauma, ADHD, and burnout — beyond the label
Complex (developmental) trauma reflects what the nervous system learned to do to survive, and it responds to paced, body-aware work. Adult ADHD is approached as a difference, not a character flaw, with attention to the shame narratives that accumulate around it. Burnout is read as a nervous system that has been on high alert too long. In each case the label is a starting point, not the whole story.
Symptom
Anxiety, low mood, or overwhelm that returns no matter how well it's managed.
Root
The pattern and held experience underneath the symptom become the work.
Relief
The nervous system reorganizes around safety; the symptom loses the job it was doing.
Not sure where to start? A free 20-minute consultation is the simplest way to find your fit.
Book a Free Consultation04How root-cause work treats a condition (the arc)
A representative arc: the body’s bracing is addressed somatically; the protective parts driving the symptom are met through IFS; the vulnerable emotion underneath is processed through EFT; and depth work connects the pattern to its origin. The cards below trace that movement from symptom to relief.
05Sensitive struggles, handled with care
Some struggles — disordered eating, self-harm, substance use, suicidality — require extra care. APG addresses them without sensationalism and without ever implying a guaranteed outcome. If you are in crisis right now, please call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline); for eating-related concerns, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is a strong resource. You do not have to be in crisis to begin therapy — many people come simply to understand themselves more deeply.
Book a free consult
A 20-minute conversation about fit and which approach matches your presentation.
Get matched
We pair you with a clinician trained for what you're working with.
Do the deeper work
Coordinated depth and somatic work at a pace that builds safety first.
06Your path and access
Beginning is the same low-stakes step regardless of presentation: a free 20-minute consultation, then a match to the clinician and approach that fit you. Care is available in person near Mid-Wilshire and by secure telehealth across California.
| Cluster | Leads with | Framing |
|---|---|---|
| Anxiety & trauma | Somatic + IFS + EMDR/TF-CBT | Stored tension and protective parts |
| Mood (depression) | Depth + EFT | The feeling under the flat surface |
| Adult ADHD | Depth + EFT + skills | A difference, not a flaw |
| Burnout | Somatic + parts work | A nervous system on high alert |
Related Reading
The Bottom Line
You do not have to manage the same symptoms forever, and you do not have to be in crisis to deserve help. Treating a condition at the root is how relief becomes durable — and it begins with a single free conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is conditions treated at root?
Root-cause treatment of mental-health conditions is care that treating a condition at the root means following the symptom to the pattern and the held experience underneath. At Angeles Psychology Group it is delivered through depth and somatic modalities matched to the person, beginning with a free consultation.
How does APG’s depth-oriented approach to conditions treated at root help?
Rather than managing symptoms on the surface, Angeles Psychology Group works with the patterns and stored experience underneath — using Orgonomic somatic work, Internal Family Systems, depth psychology, and Emotion-Focused Therapy, matched to your situation. The aim is durable change, not just coping.
Is conditions treated at root offered in person near Mid-Wilshire or by telehealth across California?
Both. Angeles Psychology Group works from one office at 6363 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520 in Mid-Wilshire and serves the rest of California by secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth. Many clients on the Westside, in Long Beach, and in Pasadena choose telehealth to remove the commute.
Do I have to be in crisis to start therapy?
No. You do not need to be in crisis to benefit — many people come simply to understand themselves more deeply or to change a pattern that has not shifted. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 at any time.
Does APG prescribe medication?
No. Angeles Psychology Group is a psychology practice and provides psychotherapy only. Where medication is relevant, we coordinate with your own psychiatrist or prescriber, who manages it.
How much does it cost, and do you take insurance?
APG is primarily a self-pay / out-of-network practice and can typically provide superbills for clients seeking out-of-network reimbursement; associate-clinician rates widen access. The first step — a 20-minute consultation — is free, so you can assess fit before any commitment.
How do I get started?
The first step is a free 20-minute consultation. Book your consultation or call (310) 866-0440, and we will match you with the right clinician and approach for you.
About this guide
This guide reflects the clinical approach of Angeles Psychology Group, a depth-oriented, affirming psychology practice in Los Angeles founded by Dr. Neil Schierholz, PsyD (PSY25154). Angeles Psychology Group provides psychotherapy and does not prescribe medication; where medication is relevant, care is coordinated with a client’s own prescriber. Statistics are framed as research suggests and cited to primary sources where used.
What’s new: June 2026 — pillar guide published with expanded library and FAQs.