Parent Coaching and Support for Families During Challenging Times
Guiding you to stay grounded, connected, and true to yourself—especially when parenting feels like weathering a storm.
Welcome, I'm Sarah MacKay.
I provide coaching for parents of teenagers and young adults experiencing behavioral and mental health issues. When parenting feels like weathering a storm, I'm here to guide you to stay grounded, connected, and true to yourself.
This coaching is just for you—to process the hard parts of parenting, to recognize the small wins, and build your capacity to lead your family with intention. Work with me 1:1, or join me in a Parenting Support Group or in my Book Club.
Walking beside you… every step of the way.
Is your teen or young adult …
struggling emotionally, testing limits, or failing to move forward in life—and you're not sure how to respond?
You’ve likely tried everything:
Researched solutions online.
Gotten therapy for your child.
Tightened rules and consequences.
Tried being more lenient.
Read a stack of parenting books.
What if I told you the key to lasting change isn't just about fixing the situation or them—but supporting you?
When parents commit to their own growth and emotional stability, the positive ripple effects can be profound—both within themselves and throughout the entire family.
It's normal to zero in on your child's behavior and choices when they’re floundering.
But you can do something different.
I'll Be Your Guide
What You'll Gain From Parent-Focused Coaching
With the right tools, mindset, and guidance, you can:
Respond instead of react to challenging situations
Interpret your child's behaviors without taking them personally
Develop practical strategies to support your child without enabling
Set boundaries with empathy rather than reactivity
Bring up challenging topics and handle inevitable resistance
Recommit to connection, even when your child pulls away
Regain a sense of calm and purpose in your parenting,
even when it’s messy.
No Matter What Specific Challenges Your Child is Facing
Whether it's anxiety, behavioral issues, learning differences, trauma, or any other difficult situation—the approach remains the same . . .
. . . supporting you as the parent.
You don't need to become an expert in every diagnosis or condition. You’ll need mindset shifts and support to navigate your role with confidence and clarity.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
- C.S. Lewis
What Parents Are Saying
“Meeting Sarah was a true salvation.”
When my daughter returned home from a therapeutic boarding school, I did not have a transition plan. Our home situation became almost unbearable. I felt desperate and very depressed. Sarah’s coaching helped me not only establish more effective communication and a better relationship with my daughter, but it also helped me to let go of my resentments and anger.
— PARENT OF DAUGHTER ON THE SPECTRUM
“Sarah is remarkably insightful, sensitive, intelligent and effective as both a parent coach and a support group facilitator.”
Her training as an educator--, combined with her personal experience parenting a child with mental illness--helps Sarah hone in quickly on solutions tailored to our situation. She consistently impresses us with just the right nugget of wisdom for the issue at hand!
— PARENTS OF A DAUGHTER WITH A PERSONALITY DISORDER
“Sarah’s coaching helps open doors to less resistance, better communication and most importantly less stress for the entire family.”
Sarah has the uncanny ability to help parents understand how their current communication patterns with their teen and young adult 'children' are not working. She helps them come up with insightful phrasing, practice conversations, and other ways to approach their difficult kids.
—LISA SCIMENS, FAMILY SANITY FOUNDER
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