Here to walk beside you
jill M.Lillard, MA LPC
A safe place to land, steady support to lean on, and tools to help you rise.
I’m a wife, a mama, and a business owner.
I know what it’s like to feel overwhelmed or unsure how to get from where you are to where you want to be.
I know what it’s like to wish life or people would behave better. If they would just follow the manual I had for how things should go everything would be fine.
And I know how discouraging it feels to try so hard and still feel like you’re not getting anywhere.
The good news is, you don't have to park there. There is a way forward.
That in-between space is often filled with emotions like doubt, frustration, fear, and even cautious hope. And knowing how to navigate all the feelings is an important ingredient in moving into something new.
I help individuals, couples, and a community of Christian women navigate that space so they can move forward with confidence, purpose and peace.
With over 25 years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Gottman Couples Therapist, Certified Life Coach, and Brain Health Practitioner, I bring practical tools and professional insight to help you transform your life and relationships.
My relationship with Jesus shapes who I am and how I show up in this work. If your faith is important to you, we can absolutely bring that into the process. If it’s not, that’s okay too. I welcome people from all backgrounds and beliefs and will meet you right where you are.
Let’s discover what’s possible, together.
Helping you discover what else is possible.
What I Do
Hi, I'm Jill...
When life feels overwhelming, I help you shift from what you can’t control to what you can. Together we narrow the focus, take the next right step, and use the hard stuff to grow. With simple tools and steady support, you stay anchored instead of stuck.
growth & empowerment
I show up honestly so you can too. That means telling the truth with kindness, laughing when it helps, and never asking you to be anything but real. Growth starts when we stop pretending.
AUTHENTICITY
I’m not in a hurry to fix things. I slow down, listen closely, and create space for you to be where you are even if it’s messy, painful, or unclear. Before we move forward, I want you to feel truly heard.
Empathy & Listening
The things that matter the most to me
ARE WE A PERFECT MATCH?
Committed to offering couples real, evidence-based tools for connection and repair, I pursued advanced training through The Gottman Institute. This certification shaped much of my work with couples and continues to influence my relationship coaching today.
2019: Transitioned to Coaching
2025: Certified as a Brain Health Practioner with The Amen Brain Clinic
2012: Certified by The Gottman Institute as a Couples Therapist
2023 : Launched The Happiest Lives Podcast
My passion for equipping women expanded beyond the therapy room. I launched Inspire, a non-denominational ministry that hosts retreats and events designed to help Christian women build meaningful relationships, and strengthen their walk with the Lord.
Certified as a life coach through The Life Coach School and launched an online coaching business serving Christian women across the U.S. through programs like Clarity + Courage and The Happiest Lives Academy, offering tools to renew the mind, navigate emotions, strengthen relationships, and grow in faith.
Created a space to help women stop living like it all depends on them, release disappointment in their relationships, and start experiencing more love, peace, and purpose, through biblical truth, coaching tools, and honest conversations.
Certified as a Brain Health Practitioner through the Amen Clinic, deepening my understanding of how brain function impacts mood, behavior, and relationships—equipping me to help clients care for their minds as part of their emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being.
201l: Founded INSPIRE
Together with my husband, Dr. Richard Lillard, and a colleague, I created Lifesong for Growth and Wellness — a group counseling practice that provided therapy for individuals, couples, and families. This chapter deepened my experience in clinical leadership and broadened my understanding of what people truly need to heal and grow.
2010: Opened Lifesong for Growth & Wellness
After gaining valuable experience working for the St. Louis County Children’s Division in child abuse and neglect, I completed the requirements to become a Licensed Professional Counselor, learning crucial skills in trauma-informed care, emotional resilience, and how to walk with people through some of their darkest seasons.
1999: Became a Licensed Professional Counselor
I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, followed by a Master of Arts in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary. These academic experiences ignited my passion for helping individuals and couples build healthier, more fulfilling relationships.
. .
1997: Education Milestone
From being licensed as a counselor and certified as a Gottman relationship therapist to creating coaching programs that help women grow, each step reflects my calling to guide others into more meaningful relationships, with themselves, others and their creator.
How I got here
My journey
Participant Coaching Program for Wives
Tracy
Jill has a way of using visuals and fun stories to teach the topic of the week in her videos that I’ll remember forever.
"I highly recommend Jill's coaching programs if you ever need a reset in your marrige. "
Happy Couple
mark & Michelle
I thought maybe it was too late. But this process gave us a way to grow closer again.
" I’m so THANKFUL we took the time."
1:1 Coaching Client
Kris
I have come so far in my heart though I know there is still work to do. I am so hopeful and abiding more in joy than ever before.
"Words cannot express how enormously grateful I am for the help Jill has given me."
Happy Couple
Cristal & Dwayne
We have gained effective strategies and methods for explaining ourselves in non-offensive ways which create opportunities to grow deeper in intimate connections.
"We have become more genuine and authentic spouses who seek to understand the other. "
1:1 Coaching Client
Kisha
My life is immeasurably blessed because of the skills Jill taught me. Jill has made me acutely aware of how I identified myself and that my identity wasn’t being a victim or a woman scorned, but my identity is as a child of God who loves me more than I ever knew. She helped me see His faithfulness over my life.
"How could I have known the impact that Jill would have on me, helping me find strength in the dark places? "
1:1 Coaching Client
courtney
When I was stuck in guilt, confusion, and toxic influences, Jill gave me the tools to clear the chaos and find my footing. She helped me see that peace and healing were possible — and that I had the strength to move forward.
"Jill helped me find clarity and hope I didn't think were possible. "
6 Week Marriage Makeover
Angela
I thought that if he didn’t change, there was very little more I could do to improve our 25-year marriage — that what we had was what I could expect for the rest of my life. Happily, I was wrong! I’m so excited about the changes that have already occurred and know it’s only the beginning.
"I am so much more empowered in my relationship with my husband. "
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