Quick Answer
Relationship Therapy at Angeles Psychology Group for Santa Monica is depth-oriented, affirming care for partners, polycules, and chosen families. Sessions work with the attachment patterns, character-level defenses, and unmet developmental needs underneath the recurring conflict — not just the surface argument. Care is delivered in person at our Mid-Wilshire office or by secure telehealth across California, and begins with a free 20-minute consultation with no obligation.
Key Takeaways
- Relationship Therapy at Angeles Psychology Group for Santa Monica is depth-oriented: it works beneath the recurring conflict to the underlying patterns.
- Affirming across relationship configurations — partners, polycules, throuples, chosen families — as a named specialty across the clinical team, not a disclaimer.
- Clinicians integrate EFT, IFS, depth psychology, and Orgonomic somatic work — matched to the specific relationship rather than defaulted to a single protocol.
- Delivered in person at our Mid-Wilshire office (6363 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520) or by secure HIPAA-compliant telehealth across California.
- Care begins with a free, 20-minute consultation, with no obligation and no diagnosis required to start.
01 — OverviewWhat parallel-career erosion looks like in a working marriage
Dual-career couples work in Santa Monica arrives with a specific scarcity constraint — time is the actual limiting variable, not motivation or clinical fit. Both partners run parallel professional lives with limited overlap, and the therapy has to move meaningful material per session because open-ended pacing doesn’t align with what the calendar can sustain.
At the practice, the clinical work reaches character-level pattern rather than surface content. Depth-oriented work designed to produce durable change per session rather than accumulate slowly across a long arc is the specific fit for Westside professional-class partnerships. The session structure treats the constraint as clinical information rather than a limitation to work around.
Attachment repair. Attachment repair is the clinical process of restoring the felt sense of emotional safety and responsiveness between partners after it has eroded — often through EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy), which specifically targets the attachment bond as the mechanism of change.
Research from the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that psychotherapy is effective for the range of relational and emotional difficulties couples and partners bring to therapy, and the American Psychological Association notes that the fit between client and clinician is one of the strongest predictors of outcomes. That is the reason matching — modality, clinician, format — is the first piece of clinical work at Angeles Psychology Group.
02 — ApproachSession pacing built for durable change per clinical hour
The practice’s methodological stack is integrated rather than sequential — one framework, several layers. For dual-career partnerships the material often lives at the character level — patterns built for the professional environment leaking into the household — and reaching that layer is what makes the per-session pace clinically viable.
Compared with the broader field, APG’s specific offering is coordination inside one team. A partnership with a strong somatic component gets Orgonomic work integrated; a partnership with attachment history as the central material gets EFT-forward pacing. The clinician matches modality to case, which changes what a single session can actually move. You can read more about the practice on our relationship therapy for all configurations page.
All configurations
Affirming care for monogamous, non-monogamous, queer, and chosen-family relationships alike.
Beneath the conflict
Depth-oriented work with the patterns and unmet needs underneath — not just the recurring argument.
Coordinated care
Individual, couples, and group work inside one practice, coordinated with consent.
Whatever you’re carrying, there’s a place to begin. Book a free, 20-minute consultation.
Start a free consultation03 — In Santa MonicaSanta Monica commute realities and the format that fits
Santa Monica couples typically bring a specific commute reality — traffic between the Westside and Mid-Wilshire is real and factors into whether the therapy is sustainable at weekly cadence. That’s a scheduling decision the practice takes seriously as clinical context rather than logistics the client has to solve alone.
The office sits at 6363 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520; secure video across California covers the weeks the drive doesn’t work. Many Santa Monica couples anchor with in-person sessions on lower-traffic days and use telehealth during dense professional weeks, keeping continuity with the same clinician throughout. The format mix flexes with the professional calendar.
04 — Getting startedA first consultation on your calendar
For Dual-Career Couples Therapy in Santa Monica, the first call treats time as the actually-scarce resource. The 20-minute consultation is scheduled to happen once, at a time that doesn’t cost a professional hour, and structured to determine two things: fit with a specific clinician, and whether depth-oriented relationship work paced for durable change per session matches what you’re looking for.
What that clinical pace means practically: sessions are designed to move accumulated relational patterns rather than accumulate slowly across an open-ended arc. For attorney, executive, and dual-career partnerships common in the Westside corridor, the modality range (EFT, IFS, depth work, Orgonomic somatic) is chosen for the specific case rather than defaulted to one protocol. If you’re comparing practices, the APA’s page on choosing a psychologist covers the pacing and clinician-experience questions worth asking.
Sessions happen in person at Mid-Wilshire (6363 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520) or by secure telehealth — the mix varies week to week for most Westside professional-class clients. Private-pay with superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, fees named up front. Direct booking via (310) 866-0440 or the online system.
Office hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM (additional times available as needed), with additional times arranged when the standard availability doesn’t quite fit. For Santa Monica clients specifically, the intake team can advise on current wait times, clinician availability, and whether the format that fits your schedule is in-person, telehealth, or a mix. The consultation is free, no diagnosis is required to start, and you can pause or end the work at any point without penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Relationship Therapy at Angeles Psychology Group for Santa Monica?
Relationship therapy at Angeles Psychology Group for Santa Monica is depth-oriented care structured to fit dual-career Westside schedules — session pacing designed to produce durable change per session rather than accumulate slowly across an open-ended arc. The clinical framework integrates EFT, IFS, depth psychology, and Orgonomic somatic work as the case requires.
Who provides the care?
Care is provided by a multi-clinician team including licensed psychologists, licensed marriage and family therapists, and associate (pre-licensed) clinicians working under doctoral-level clinical supervision. The practice is founded and clinically directed by Dr. Neil Schierholz, PsyD (PSY25154), a licensed clinical psychologist. Angeles Psychology Group is a psychology practice and does not prescribe medication — where medication is relevant, care is coordinated with the client’s own prescriber. All clinicians hold current California licensure or are registered associates working under supervision.
Do you accommodate Westside commuting realities?
Yes. Secure HIPAA-compliant telehealth is available for the days a commute isn’t practical, and in-person sessions at the Mid-Wilshire office are available for the anchor points. The clinical work is designed to hold continuity across the two formats, and the practice’s stated clinical policy is that the modality does not compromise for the format — depth-oriented care translates to telehealth when the container is held accordingly.
Is telehealth available for clients in Santa Monica?
Yes. Sessions are available in person at our Mid-Wilshire office (6363 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 520, Los Angeles, CA 90048) or by secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth across California. Telehealth removes the commute barrier for clients in Santa Monica and is delivered with the same clinical depth as in-person work — the practice’s stated position is that depth-oriented care translates to the virtual format when the container is held accordingly. Clients often split between formats based on schedule and preference, keeping continuity with the same clinician.
How do we get started?
Begin with a free, 20-minute consultation — a conversation about fit before any commitment. A clinician helps you decide who should be involved (individual, couple, family, or group), what modality is likely to fit, and what the work might look like, with no obligation. You can book online or call (310) 866-0440. Office hours are Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM (additional times available as needed), and additional times can be arranged by request.
About this page
This page reflects the practice 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. Claims about psychotherapy are framed as research suggests and cited to primary sources below.
Reviewed by Dr. Neil Schierholz, PsyD. Last updated September 2026.
Sources & Further Reading
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