Clinical Therapist
Jill Kalis is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) with a deep passion for supporting children, teens, adults, and families on their journey toward healing and growth. With a Master’s degree in Social Work from Southern Illinois University, where she graduated with a 3.9 GPA and earned her School Social Worker PEL Endorsement, Jill brings a strong foundation of clinical expertise and a heartfelt commitment to her work. Her warm and approachable demeanor creates a safe and supportive space where clients of all ages feel heard, valued, and empowered.
Beyond her clinical work, Jill is a passionate advocate for family engagement and trauma-informed practice. She believes that meaningful change happens when families, schools, and communities work together, and she is dedicated to helping parents and caregivers navigate the challenges of raising children and teens. Her ability to connect with young people and their families, combined with her expertise in evidence-based interventions, makes her a trusted partner in the therapeutic process.
When she’s not working, Jill continues to seek out opportunities for professional growth and community engagement. Her dedication to her clients and her unwavering commitment to excellence make her an invaluable member of the GearingUP team.
Jill has extensive experience working with adolescents and school-aged children, having served as a School-Based Behavioral Health Clinician and School Social Work Intern. She has provided individual and group counseling to middle school students, conducted crisis interventions, developed IEP goals, and collaborated closely with educators, families, and community providers to support students’ social and emotional development. Her work with students with intellectual and learning disabilities has further deepened her understanding of neurodivergence and the importance of fostering independence, self-advocacy, and resilience.
Jill works with clients of all ages, including children, teens, and adults, as well as families and parents. Whether she’s helping a teen manage anxiety, supporting a child through behavioral challenges, or guiding a family through difficult transitions, Jill’s compassionate and intelligent approach ensures that every client receives personalized care tailored to their unique needs.
Jill is currently being personally trained and supervised by Dr. Sylvia Gearing, the founder and Executive Director of GearingUP, in all of the clinic’s clinical programs, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Through intensive in-person supervision, coaching from GearingUP’s senior clinicians, and advanced professional CEU trainings led by world-renowned experts, Jill is adding to her already prodigious clinical skills to provide the highest quality, evidence-based care to her clients. Her dedication to continuous learning ensures that she stays at the forefront of innovative therapeutic approaches.
The skills-based system and emotional regulation strategies in DBT were found to be almost universally helpful to clients looking to regain control of their thoughts and emotions. Much like CBT, researchers have shown that DBT is also effective for virtually any type of client – ages 7-60+, all genders and sexual orientations, all races and ethnicities, and more.
CBT has been proven to be effective for many of the most common mental health issues, and the results have been easily replicated with different clients and different therapists time and time again. The combination of clear structure, easy implementation, and effective skills usage outside of the therapy office has made CBT the first choice of many therapists for decades.
A regular practice of mindfulness meditation every day could lead to significant benefits for practitioners in terms of mental clarity and focus, stress reduction, emotional calm, and much more. Researchers even found physical benefits like lower blood pressure, increased body awareness, decreased pain, increased immunity, and decreased chance of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
Jill Kalis is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) with a deep passion for supporting children, teens, adults, and families on their journey toward healing and growth. With a Master’s degree in Social Work from Southern Illinois University, where she graduated with a 3.9 GPA and earned her School Social Worker PEL Endorsement, Jill brings a strong foundation of clinical expertise and a heartfelt commitment to her work. Her warm and approachable demeanor creates a safe and supportive space where clients of all ages feel heard, valued, and empowered.
Jill has extensive experience working with adolescents and school-aged children, having served as a School-Based Behavioral Health Clinician and School Social Work Intern. She has provided individual and group counseling to middle school students, conducted crisis interventions, developed IEP goals, and collaborated closely with educators, families, and community providers to support students’ social and emotional development. Her work with students with intellectual and learning disabilities has further deepened her understanding of neurodivergence and the importance of fostering independence, self-advocacy, and resilience.
Beyond her clinical work, Jill is a passionate advocate for family engagement and trauma-informed practice. She believes that meaningful change happens when families, schools, and communities work together, and she is dedicated to helping parents and caregivers navigate the challenges of raising children and teens. Her ability to connect with young people and their families, combined with her expertise in evidence-based interventions, makes her a trusted partner in the therapeutic process.
Jill works with clients of all ages, including children, teens, and adults, as well as families and parents. Whether she’s helping a teen manage anxiety, supporting a child through behavioral challenges, or guiding a family through difficult transitions, Jill’s compassionate and intelligent approach ensures that every client receives personalized care tailored to their unique needs.
Jill is currently being personally trained and supervised by Dr. Sylvia Gearing, the founder and Executive Director of GearingUP, in all of the clinic’s clinical programs, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Through intensive in-person supervision, coaching from GearingUP’s senior clinicians, and advanced professional CEU trainings led by world-renowned experts, Jill is adding to her already prodigious clinical skills to provide the highest quality, evidence-based care to her clients. Her dedication to continuous learning ensures that she stays at the forefront of innovative therapeutic approaches.
When she’s not working, Jill continues to seek out opportunities for professional growth and community engagement. Her dedication to her clients and her unwavering commitment to excellence make her an invaluable member of the GearingUP team.
Jill’s Areas of Experience & Interest:
Specialized Training In:
Among Jill’s many accomplishments are the following:
Sessions are available in person at the offices below and online by secure video from home, and you can switch between the two whenever it suits you.
Secure video sessions from home, with the same care you would get in the office.
Laura was absolutely amazing! She was friendly, helpful, and made the whole experience even better. Her positive attitude and attention to detail really stood out. You can tell she genuinely cares about making sure people have a great experience.
Thank you, Laura, for being awesome! Highly recommend! 🙌
Had a wonderful experience at this facility. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Laura Cantu went the extra mile for me.
It is clear from our initial meeting that the people here are highly educated and experienced, along with caring deeply about their clients needs. The high level of individualized, thoughtful programming is incredible.
Dr. Gearing is awesome and the staff is super friendly. I look forward to working with them moving forward.
Completed our intake appointment with Dr. Fearing today and we had an excellent experience. She took time to truly understand the struggles out son is working through, and outlined a plan to support him and us as parents. She was warm, compassionate and very knowledgeable.
This counseling service has by far been the most thorough, evidence-based practice I have used for our family. I appreciate their careful attention to detail and communication for the treatment process!
or call (972) 596-7229