Dr. Ernest Reilly, LCSW
Adults, Teens, Children, Couples, Family Therapist and Parenting Coordinator
Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator
About Dr. Reilly
LCSW | Executive Director | Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator
In-Person and Virtual Appointments Available
Dr. Ernie Reilly, LCSW, brings over 30 years of experience as a therapist for children, teens, adults, couples, and families, helping navigate life’s most difficult and rewarding challenges. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Florida Supreme Court-Certified Family Mediator, a Qualified Parent Coordinator, a Life Coach, and an accomplished therapist specializing in helping marriages and families thrive. Dr. Reilly is also a child and play therapy expert, known for his calm and engaging approach that puts even the most anxious children and stressed parents at ease.
Warm, welcoming, and family-friendly, Dr. Reilly’s practice is a safe place to be real. Clients often describe him as “Dr. Ernie” or “Coach Reilly”—the calm in their storm—bringing insight, humor, empathy, and guidance to every conversation. Outside of his practice, Dr. Reilly has been happily married for over 25 years and is raising his two children, who are consistently recognized as Presidential Honor Roll students and high-performance athletes. Along with several much-loved dogs and turtles, his family remains his greatest source of joy and fun.
Dr. Reilly specializes in:
Depression, anxiety, grief, and trauma
Childhood behavioral and emotional issues
Play therapy, adolescent, and adult counseling
Marriage, relationship, and co-parenting issues
Divorce and high-conflict family dynamics
Sports Counseling, mindset training, and resiliency building
Life coaching, parent coaching, and relationship coaching
Forgiveness issues, life transitions, and life guidance
ADHD, school problems, and concentration challenges
Eating disorders, attachment difficulties, and separation anxiety
Acting out behaviors, aggression, and other behavior problems
Guidance in Complex Family Matters
When legal or court-related dynamics are involved, families require more than basic therapy—they need clarity, unbiased assistance, and a guide who understands both the legal system and the emotional dynamics. Dr. Reilly brings rare expertise to these high-stakes cases as a:
Florida Supreme Court-Certified Family Mediator
Qualified Parent Coordinator
Parent-Child Reunification Therapist
Mental Health Neutral (Collaborative Law Model)
His specialized training helps reduce conflict, misunderstanding, and unnecessary legal expenses while promoting healthier family outcomes.
Coaching for Growth & Performance
Not every challenge requires therapy. Sometimes, you just need a coach who listens deeply and helps you map the path forward. As "Coach Reilly," he offers:
Life Coaching for adults and young adults facing life transitions
Parent Coaching for caregivers seeking tools and confidence
Marriage Coaching to strengthen or restore connection
Sports Counseling for student-athletes who want to thrive mentally and emotionally
His coaching work helps individuals and families reach their goals, develop resilience, increase capacity, foster grit, develop mental strength, unlock their abilities, and create early intervention strategies that prevent more serious problems from developing.
Leadership & Professional Education
Dr. Reilly has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida, training graduate students in clinical work with children, families, and couples. He is also a Florida Board-Approved Supervisor for therapists pursuing licensure in mental health counseling, clinical social work, and marriage and family therapy. He supervises trauma therapists, child therapists, and play therapists pursuing specialized certifications.
He has been recognized with Florida’s Mental Health Services Award for his leadership in treating children and supporting abuse victims. He is a nationally sought-after speaker and trainer in the fields of child therapy, family counseling, and trauma treatment. Dr. Reilly has provided training to universities, seminaries, hospitals, churches, athletic organizations, and treatment facilities. He is also a founding leader of both the Central Florida chapter of CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and the Association for Play Therapy.
Academic & Clinical Background
Dr. Reilly holds degrees from Florida State University and Asbury Theological Seminary, including a bachelor's degree with dual majors in Psychology and Philosophy, a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work (with advanced training in treating children, adolescents, and families), and a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) with a concentration in transformative and innovative approaches to marriage and family therapy.
He has focused much of his clinical, academic, and professional work on helping people heal from abuse, strengthen relationships, navigate divorce, improve co-parenting and family dynamics, and cultivate forgiveness. This includes a doctoral dissertation on "The Use of Forgiveness in High-Conflict Divorces," which aims to promote cooperative co-parenting. He has pursued postgraduate training at the Orlando Regional Healthcare System, Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women, the Family Research and Guidance Center, and the Howard Phillips Center, where he has served in various capacities, including therapist, Director of Psychosocial Services, and, most recently, consultant for mental health programs.
🏥 Insurance and Payment Information
In-Network Insurance Plans Accepted:
Aetna
United Healthcare
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Cigna
Tricare
Optum
Oscar
Diocese of Orlando
UCF Athletics
Victims Compensation
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs):
United, Cigna, and Aetna EAPs
Out-of-Network Benefits: We welcome clients with out-of-network benefits and can provide documentation for reimbursement.
Self-Pay & Sliding Scale: Affordable self-pay options are available. Sliding scale fees can be discussed and approved directly with Dr. Reilly.
Please Note: Unfortunately, we are not able to accept Medicare or Medicaid plans at this time. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.
Some specializations include
Divorce Cases
Divorce is traumatic and disruptive to the lives of everyone involved. For children the trauma can be particularly intense. Contrary to what some will say, children, as a whole, do not handle divorce well. Children are expected to form strong attachments to both parents, to the notion of a strong family unit, as well as, the notion of two parents together in one home. Divorce involves the collapse of many ingrained social expectations for the child. Deep inside, most children, no matter how tough they may seem to be, become frightened, confused, insecure, vulnerable, hurt, depressed, overwhelmed, angry, and conflicted in their emotions toward each of the parents
Marriage & Couples Counseling
Some couples need minor adjustments to get back on their feet and some need a major overhaul to save their relationship, marriage, or family. Some couples come to counseling to prevent problems from occurring in the future and some come to solve current problems or heal from past relationship wounds.
Anxiety & Depression
Fears, anxiety, or stress may begin to interfere with a child's normal daily routine or needed activities (school, eating, sleeping). When this occurs, the child would be well served to see a child therapist for a short period of time. Usually a professional can help the child quickly discover where the fear, anxiety, or stress is coming from and help them find a way to resolve it. This type of assistance can free your child up to continue to live a normal life and may prevent more serious problems that can develop from persistent fears, anxiety, or stress. At the Counseling Corner some of our therapist specialize in treating childhood anxiety.
Child & Play Therapy
Play therapy is to children what talk therapy is to adults. Play is a child’s language. Adolescents and adults use languages like English, Spanish, French to express themselves. However, no matter what verbal language children speak, children express themselves best through their natural language—the language of play. In the playroom, toys, games and activities are used like words. Children are provided therapeutic toys to enable them to say with the toys what they have difficulty saying with words…. They can use dolls, puppets, paints, or other toys to say what they think or how they feel. Many times difficult things happen in life and even the adults involved have difficulty understanding or explaining the events or their feelings about the events. It is easy to see why children, who lack the verbal skills of an adult, find it even more difficult.
Adolescent & Young Adult Therapy
“Some adolescents / teenagers have minor issues and just need a little assistance to get back on their feet and back on track. Whereas some adolescents / teenagers have very serious issues such as teenage depression, eating disorders, teenage violence, substance abuse, and many more serious issues that need more significant interventions. Some teens go to counseling to prevent problems from occurring in the future and some come to solve current problems or heal from past wounds.