James Gilligan, LCSW

James Gilligan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who brings twenty years of clinical experience to his work. He earned a Master of Social Work from Florida International University in 1998 and became licensed in Florida in 2000, credentials that reflect his formal training and long-term commitment to practice.

Early in his career he worked in the Miami-Dade County school system providing individual, group, and family therapy for children and adolescents. He also supported people with severe mental illness, including those living with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder, offering structured interventions and collaborative care.

Since 2007 he has worked with active duty military populations, focusing on marital concerns, individual treatment for anxiety, depression, PTSD, and related stressors, and addressing issues such as domestic violence. He has developed particular expertise helping people who grew up in dysfunctional family systems and who carry that trauma into adulthood, as well as supporting clients with addictions and eating disorders. He has provided marital counseling and received training in the Gottman Method for couples work.

Clinically he draws from a range of evidence-informed approaches, including Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Motivational Interviewing, Gottman Method, and mindfulness-based techniques. He emphasizes practical skills and collaborative planning to help clients make the changes they want in their lives.