Couples Therapy & EFT in South Orange, NJ

When you and your partner keep landing in the same argument, or when the closeness has just gone quiet, it's easy to start wondering whether you're wrong for each other. More often you've fallen into a loop that neither of you knows how to climb out of. Loops can change.

I'm Sean Gilligan, LCSW. I work with couples in South Orange, Maplewood, and across Essex County on communication, trust, and feeling connected again.

What is Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)?

EFT is one of the better-researched approaches to couples work. The idea behind it is straightforward: most repeating fights aren't really about the dishes or the calendar. They're about whether each person feels heard and wanted. EFT helps you slow the argument down, see what's actually driving it, and use those moments to turn back toward each other instead of drifting apart.

Couples I see

  • Partners stuck in the same argument on repeat

  • Couples who feel more like roommates than partners

  • Rebuilding after infidelity or a broken trust

  • Getting through a big change: a baby, a move, a new job, an empty nest

  • Differences in closeness, communication, or where you each want to go

  • Couples of all kinds, LGBTQ+ couples included

What sessions are like

We meet together. Early on, I'll help you both name the cycle you keep falling into: who tends to push, who tends to pull back, and what each of you is feeling underneath it. From there, the work is learning to reach for each other differently. I'm fairly active in the room. When the old pattern shows up, I'll step in so you can try something new while I'm there to help.

Start the conversation

If you're tired of having the same fight, request an appointment or call (646) 265-3634. My office is in South Orange, easy to reach from Maplewood, Montclair, and nearby.