Dr. Sylvia Scott Gearing

Nationally renowned psychologist and author, Sylvia Gearing, Ph.D. has been a pioneer in psychology for over twenty years. As an author and TV expert, she has impacted the lives of millions. From 1997 to 1998, she was a frequent contributor in women's issues on NBC's Today Show in New York. For almost two decades she has been featured on hundreds of newscasts, radio shows, and talk shows including Dr. Phil, Donahue, Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. She is a frequent contributor for bloggers, academicians, and popular writers and she has been quoted in numerous books. Her television appearances and video blogs have been featured on Huffington Post, AOL.com and CNN.com. Currently, Dr. Gearing is the psychology contributor to CBS 11 News where she reports weekly on a variety of topics including parenting, addictions, the latest research on neuropsychology, politics, celebrity meltdowns, marriage and communication issues, bullying and child development, and many more important mental health issues. Her blogs and videos have drawn over 200,000 visits from around the world in the last year alone!

Dr. Gearing has been a popular speaker in Dallas and around the country on women’s and girl’s issues, personal and professional excellence, and emotional intelligence. She has spoken for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, J.C. Penney, Forbes Magazine, Infiniti Automobile, Andrews and Kurth, Deloitte and Touche, and Hunton and Williams. Her speeches capture the unique perspective of a career psychologist who has worked in broadcast media for almost two decades. These two highly divergent disciplines have shaped her understanding of how to effectively inspire people while leading them to lasting change. In her presentations, she is entertaining, but always empowering by outlining not only what should be changed but how change can be quickly and effectively realized.

Dr. Gearing graduated Magna cum Laude in psychology from Duke University and completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. She studied at the prestigious Masterson Institute in New York City for several years where she worked with internationally renowned James Masterson M.D. Both in her clinical practice and in the many leadership positions she has held in hospitals and clinics, Dr. Gearing made many of the discoveries in relationships, stress, and women's issues that have brought her national acclaim.

Her first book, “Female Executive Stress Syndrome: The Working Woman's Guide to a Balanced and Successful Life” (Summit, 1994), launched her national media career. She has been featured in many publications including the Wall Street Journal, Modern Bride, Ladies Home Journal, Weight Watcher's Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Dallas Morning News. In addition, her videos on stress and working women were featured on thousands of United Airlines flights in the late nineties.

In 1995, Dr. Gearing was honored by the National Association of Executive Women for her landmark research on stress in working women. She was featured on the cover of the association's magazine, which is distributed to over 250,000 women nationally.

Her long awaited second book, “Woman-Sense Rules!” (Anderson Adams, 2003), combined the lessons from her many years as a clinical psychologist and the psychological and medical research she had reported on for CBS news as a medical expert.

Currently, Dr. Gearing practices psychology at Gearing Up! Counseling Centers and is the Executive Director where she oversees a professional staff of nine counselors. Her husband, Dr. Milton Gearing is the Director of Clinical services. The Gearings’ acclaimed counseling center addresses the mental health needs of thousands of North Texas adults, teens and children with the latest, most effective approaches in clinical psychology.

Dr. Gearing is writing her third book, “Strong Girls: A Handbook for Empowering Daughters” with Sally Giddens Stephenson. This important book teaches mothers how to impart emotional core competencies their daughters must have to succeed in the world—self-awareness, emotional flexibility and control, effectiveness and accuracy in perceiving themselves and others, solid self-confidence and the ability to thrive despite adversity and even failure. With these skills, a “strong girl” can stand up to bullies, protect herself from manipulators, overcome negativity, and forge her path straight to success.

Dr. Gearing is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Texas Psychological Association and the National Health Service Providers in Psychology. Married to Dr. Milton Gearing for over twenty-nine years, she is the devoted mother of two grown sons.