About The Adult Chair®
When I first encountered The Adult Chair® model in the fall of 2022, I was at a crossroads.
I was emotionally depleted and physically exhausted—burned out from my role as co-director of a nonprofit, while my best friend and co-director had just returned home from the hospital under hospice care. At the same time, I felt a deep knowing: I was preparing for a new chapter, but I had no idea what that heart-aligned path would look like—or how to begin.
Like many high-capacity women, I had spent years pushing through.
I had no real self-care practices. I was quietly navigating depression and carrying the weight of an old belief I didn’t even know was there: that I wasn’t enough.
The Adult Chair® didn’t just give me tools—it offered me a new way of being.
Through this model, I learned to process my grief with compassion, reconnect with my inner child, and feel my emotions without being consumed by them. I found safety in my own body. I uncovered patterns I didn’t know were running the show. I began healing—gently, deeply, and for real.
That journey changed everything—not just in how I healed, but in how I lead.
As I reconnected with my true self, I realized something I’d never been taught: Business growth isn’t just about strategy. It’s about identity.
The more I honored my inner child, regulated my nervous system, and let go of old beliefs… the more clearly I saw who I’m here to be—and how I’m meant to serve.
That’s why I became a Master Certified Adult Chair® coach—and why I’m so passionate about sharing this work.
It is an honor to hold space for your healing, your clarity, and your return to self.
“Thank you so much, Jill, for knowing the right words to help me find those younger versions. We've had quite a few conversations since last week.”
Featured on The Adult Chair Podcast
I had the honor of joining Michelle Chalfant, alongside Rebecca Fellenbaum and Sara Stansberry, on The Adult Chair Podcast to delve into the transformative power of inner child work. Starting at 40:22, I share how The Adult Chair model became the most effective tool for healing the complicated grief of losing my father at a young age. During our conversation, I also demonstrate how I connect with my 6-year-old self — the age I was when these life-altering events occurred — and how this practice has profoundly supported my healing journey.
Reactions to Podcast
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Your vulnerability really helped me access my heart. Like so many of us, I live in my head and it’s not always easy for me to drop down into my heart space but watching you do so unlocked something in me and helped me do the same.
Melissa
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What you shared and spoke about resonated with me so deeply. Today you taught me how to truly connect with my inner child. It was so beautiful to see and hear how to go there. Deep patience, unlimited time, unconditional love, care, understanding, and unwavering support over a lifetime. Thank you, Jill, for sharing your gorgeous authentic self on the podcast episode. I have goosebumps!
Cindy
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Your story was fantastic and resonated deeply with me. I especially loved how you broke down your inner child work; it was honest, pure, and such good teaching.
Sara
Ready to stop playing small so you can expand into a new identity in your work, your business, and your life?
The Adult Chair® Model
The Adult Chair® is a manual for your life. It’s a tool that helps you feel empowered, confident, and equipped with a clear roadmap to your healthiest, most authentic self. Through The Adult Chair®, you will understand how your life experiences have shaped you, give a voice to the different parts of who you are, gain greater self-awareness, and respond to life in a healthy way.
The Child Chair
Your inner child forms between ages zero and seven, and it is the foundation of your true feelings and needs. The inner child is deeply vulnerable, which makes it the source of deep, connected relationships. It is also where early wounding can occur, which shapes our view of the world as we grow up. When seated in the Child Chair, we find creativity, passion, spontaneity, trust, and intimacy.
The Adolsecent Chair
In adolescence, you begin to develop your own identity and realize that you are separate and unique from the world around you. As the ego forms, so does the desire to protect yourself, whether the daggers are real or imagined. When seated in the Adolescent Chair, we become perfectionist, judgmental, and controlling, and we develop a mask to hide our authentic selves from a world that seems cold and rejecting. Most of us live from this place until we awake and decide we are ready to change.
The Adult Chair
The Adult Chair® represents your highest self: living in the present moment, dealing with facts and truth over stories and assumptions, and being able to set boundaries from a place of patience and compassion. While seated in the Adult Chair®, we can deeply connect with our inner child’s needs and feelings and objectively observe our adolescent’s behaviors. It is here, and only here, that we can become aware of—and overcome—the emotional triggers and negative patterns that hold us back.