JILL BATES, REGISTERED SOCIAL WORKER
THEY/THEM
Who I See
12+ for both individual online therapy and family therapy across Ontario.
Who I am
Hi! I’m Jill. Queer, trans, neurodivergent (AuDHD), white, hype squad human with complex history of trauma, and medical malpractice resulting in chronic pain. And, I am more than my social locations. I am a weirdo, a gardener, and a friend to worms and other creatures.
I bring humanity and warmth into session with me, combining my lived experience and professional expertise to provide a soft landing place to look at the hard stuff. I understand the importance of having a therapist who you can feel comfortable with, and trust their clinical judgement, and as a trans person and early childhood trauma survivor, someone who really “gets it”. Working through shame, addiction, disassociation, and why we go into fight, flight, or freeze requires enough trust to open up. My personal journey with wellness, alongside my professional path, has led me to an ongoing commitment to create an affirming and compassionate space for folks to access low-barrier supports.
Learn more about family therapy with Jill
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CLIENT AREAS OF INTEREST
I work primarily with transgender and gender-diverse people navigating early childhood trauma, attachment wounds, and complex PTSD. My approach focuses on healing shame, building self-worth, and supporting healthy boundaries, all through a trauma-informed, affirming lens.
I’m also passionate about anti-carceral care, offering support to those who are incarcerated and families impacted by the justice system. I work from a harm reduction model with addiction, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and compulsive behaviours.
My practice is neurodivergent-affirming. I support individuals with curiosity, not judgment. Whether you're processing trauma, exploring identity, or seeking more stability day to day, I offer therapy that is inclusive, collaborative, and grounded in respect.
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MY THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
I offer a trauma-informed, somatic approach to therapy, rooted in the deep connection between body and mind. Many trauma survivors learn to disconnect from their bodies in order to survive. Together, we gently explore those embodied experiences while also considering how your environment, past and present, shapes your reality.
Using nervous system regulation, emotional coping skills, and stabilization strategies, we work to slow automatic thoughts, reconnect with your body’s truth, and release stored trauma. This creates space for healing, safety, and a renewed sense of self.
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ECLECTIC MODALITIES USED
I integrate evidence-based therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS), with a compassionate and relational approach. I’m also a current Somatic Experiencing® student, deepening my work with the nervous system and body-based healing.
My style is low-barrier and deeply human. I don’t believe in the “blank slate” therapist model. Instead, I show up with authenticity and care, because real connection is often what makes it possible to face the most painful parts of our stories.
More About Jill
I began my career in high crisis settings, supporting youth and families experiencing chronic homelessness to provide wrap-around intensive case management in efforts to decrease housing instability. During the hours spent in the car driving with folks from appointment to appointment, I found joy in the in-between moments. Waiting rooms and coffee shops, heavy traffic and red lights became the best moments of my job, as those moments allowed for low-barrier, supportive conversations in organic and vulnerable ways.
Throughout my career, I have worked for various non-profits, providing mental health care, youth and family counselling, prisoner rights advocacy, and offering queer and trans psychoeducation and capacity-building trainings, while always prioritizing the deeply felt importance of relationship, relatability, and client-centred approaches to care. Those values lead me towards providing low barrier therapy within specialized mental health roles for queer youth and their families across Simcoe County and York Region.
CAREER PATH
I am passionate about sustainable transportation and finding the most busted ’90s bicycles that I can, in order to fix them up enough to then give them away to pals or whoever needs them. I have two big dogs that I adore, and a grumpy old cat who runs the house. I am a lifelong learner of ASL, and pre-pandemic would volunteer at Bob Rumball’s adult ASL retreat every year. My favourite podcasts are “Ologies with Alie Ward” and “Completely Arbitrary”, and I can often be found in the forest looking at the trees.
