About The Adult Chair®
When I first encountered The Adult Chair® model in the fall of 2022, I was at a crossroads as a leader and as a mother.
I was emotionally depleted and physically exhausted, burned out from co-directing a nonprofit while my best friend and co-director had just returned home from the hospital under hospice care. At the very same time, I felt a clear knowing: a new chapter was calling, but I didn’t yet know what a heart-aligned path would look like or how to begin it while still mothering well.
Like many high-capacity moms, I had spent years pushing through. I had no true self-care practices. I was quietly navigating depression and carrying an old, hidden belief: that I wasn’t enough. At home, that looked like over-functioning, absorbing my kids’ emotions, and measuring my okay-ness by theirs.
The Adult Chair® didn’t just give me tools—it gave me a new way of being a woman, a leader, and a mom.
Through this model, I learned to process 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 that had been running the show. And at home, I began to learn how to be more present, to allow our kids to grow through their hardships rather than rushing in to fix, to take responsibility for myself, to stay calmer, to have clearer boundaries, and to raise kids who felt safer coming to me.
As I reconnected with my true self, I realized something I’d never been taught: sustainable growth—in business and in motherhood—isn’t just about strategy. It’s about identity and nervous-system steadiness. The more I honored my inner child, regulated my system, and released old beliefs, the more clearly I could show up as the steady, calm, reliable presence my family needed—and the clearer I became about 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 with moms who lead.
It’s an honor to hold space for your healing, your motherhood, and your return to self—so the success you’ve created at work is mirrored by connection, ease, and steadiness at home.
“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 strengthen your relationships with those most important to you? Let’s chat and explore how I can best support you.
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.