James Gilligan, LCSW

James Gilligan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Florida with 20 years of clinical experience. He works with adults on issues such as anger, stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, depression, and relationship concerns. He also addresses parenting strain, sleep and eating difficulties, career stress, and compassion fatigue.

He trained at Florida International University and has practiced in both school and military settings. Early work included individual and group therapy in Miami-Dade County schools. Later he spent many years working with active duty service members on marital problems, anxiety, PTSD, and related concerns.

James has experience supporting people coming from dysfunctional family systems and those managing the long-term effects of attachment wounds and abandonment. He has provided care for people with bipolar disorder and major depression and has worked with substance misuse and eating disorders.

In sessions he uses concrete strategies from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy alongside attachment-based work. He also draws on eye movement desensitization and reprocessing when trauma treatment is needed. Gottman-informed techniques have been used for marital counseling and communication skills.

His approach emphasizes practical change. He focuses on identifying patterns that fuel anger and stress. He teaches skills for managing strong emotions, improving communication, and rebuilding trust in relationships. Clients learn steps they can use between sessions to handle triggers and reduce reactivity.

To begin, people complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session. Costs vary by location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.

Therapeutic approaches used and how online work fits