We offer peer-to-peer support for parents whose teens and young adults are dealing with mental health issues. Attend one of our three monthly virtual meetings and discover a caring and comforting community.
Free In-Person Meeting
Bring your partner or a friend
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Family Sanity will host an in-person meeting for parents of teens and young adults on September 7th (Sunday) from 1-3pm. The meeting will be held at the Museum of American Heritage, Palo Alto. Please sign up to attend this Free event as soon as you can. You will meet, share and connect with other parents with similar experiences. We look forward to seeing you!
Location: Training Room of Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
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Date/Time: September 7th, Sunday, 1-3pm
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Facilitators: Lie-Yea Cheng and Mary Vincent
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Event contact: 650-353-0523
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Upcoming Support Groups
Parents of Teens (10 to 18 years)
Monthly Peninsula Parent Support Group
Sundays: 1:00PM - 3:00PM
Virtual (online)
Next Meeting Dates (click date to register)
Monthly East & North Bay Parent Support Group
Saturdays: 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Virtual (online)
Next Meeting Dates (click date to register):
Parents of Older Teens and Young Adults (18 to 38 years)
Monthly Greater Bay Area Parent Support Group
Tuesdays: 7:00PM - 9:00PM
Virtual (online)
Next Meeting Dates (click date to register):
We suggest a $10 donation for Family Sanity Meetings to help cover our administrative costs. Please contact founder Lisa Scimens to request financial assistance lisascimens@gmail.com.
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Family Sanity is truly a volunteer run organization. Our facilitators, our parent coach, and our founder all work without compensation. Our operating costs have increased dramatically this year, so please donate whatever you can.
Parenting Blogs
Reframing Expectations
"Perhaps your life isn’t the way you had hoped it would be. Maybe your job, bank account, primary relationship, or even parenting skills have seen better days. Maybe it’s been difficult to get anything done, and the ball keeps getting dropped because you’re busy managing tasks like doctor’s appointments and medication for your loved one. Or maybe you are worried because your young adult is overmedicating on substances and living on the street..."
(read more)​
From Our Founder
Recently we have been reaching out and trying a few new things. We’d love to hear what you think.
In June, one of our facilitators, Lie-yea Cheng, and I attended the PHP (Parents Helping Parents) Resource Fair in Santa Clara, CA. More than 50 other family mental health-focused groups were in attendance. There was a lot of interest in our group, especially because we serve parents of young adults.
At PHP, we also learned there are many regional groups that are offering parent support (especially for teens) online every month like we do.
Then, on July 15, we held the first hour of our monthly meeting focused on “The Importance of Self-Care”. We had a special guest, Family Sanity member Shelley Karpaty, who talked about how meditation and journaling have helped her along her journey of mothering a now young adult who is dealing with psychosis. Attendance was great, and we received a lot of positive feedback.
So this has me thinking…is there a saturation of online parent support groups? Are topics a better way to go rather than just offering monthly parent support groups only?
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Also, do people want to meet in person rather than online?
Well, let’s give an in-person meeting a try. We have one planned for September 7 in Palo Alto!
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See the Upcoming Meetings section to the left of this page for details on how to sign-up.
We’d love your feedback on in-person meetings and more. We are trying to keep Family Sanity as relevant and filling your needs as best as we can.
Many thanks,
Lisa
Parenting Solutions for Every Stage
Feeling Stuck?
At Family Sanity, we understand how hard it can be to parent to a complicated teen or young adult. Whether you're dealing with conflict in daily life, substance use, or delayed transitions to adulthood…
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There’s help. And there’s hope.
Most parents I work with want to:
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Feel more connected to their child
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Worry less
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Communicate more clearly and effectively
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Experience less conflict in daily life
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Help their child take responsibility and manage their own life
Together, we create clear strategies and concrete tools to help you parent with more confidence, calm, and connection.
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Ways We Can Work Together:
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1:1 Parent Coaching - Customized support
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Laser Group Coaching Sessions – Get help in a group context
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Parenting Book Club – Increase your knowledge, grow together
Let’s Talk.
Email: sarahmackaycoaching@gmail.com
Schedule a FREE 25-minute consultation
Testimonials
"Family Sanity has been a lifesaver for me raising 2 teenagers and now young adults as a single mom. I don’t have a great support system, and my siblings / acquaintances really have no idea about raising neuro-divergent kids."