OSF St. Anthony's to Offer New Support Group for Parents of Teenagers

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ALTON - OSF St. Anthony’s Health Center will introduce a new support group for parents.

Starting in May 2026, psychotherapist Sara Bennett will offer a group that allows parents to connect. This group is targeted toward the parents of teenagers and will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays at OSF St. Anthony’s. As a mom and a therapist who works primarily with teens and young adults, Bennett hopes the group provides a productive space for parents to develop their skills.

“Not only are we figuring out that relationship and building that connection, but amongst all of this, we really are teaching them how to regulate their emotions, how to process through something a little more logically,” Bennett said of raising teens. “If we can do that in really safe places, then we can go into the world where it’s not so safe and try those same kinds of skills. Then we’re moving through life not unbothered or unscathed, but at least with the know-how and the courage to know that we’ll get through it.”

Bennett explained that she has five kids; her older kids are in their early 30s while her younger kids are in their teens, and she has discovered that raising them has been “significantly different” as technology becomes more prominent in her teenagers’ lives. She had to “relearn how to parent in a lot of ways” and wants to help other parents through this transition.

Emotional regulation is an important skill that teens must learn, and Bennett believes parents can help them develop this skill. Additionally, she wants to help parents build relationships with their children where the kids feel safe to come to their parents with questions, concerns and difficulties. These two ideas are the primary focuses of the group.

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“Teenagers have some big emotions, don't they? And they kind of vary from moment to moment,” Bennett said. “But that’s the one thing that we can count on. Right now they may be just totally off the chain and doing something kind of wild and crazy. But if we give them a little bit of space and just validate their feelings…they’ll move through that. They just need you to see them for what it is and to really hear them.”

Bennett believes that this is the best way to build a strong relationship with your teenager. She noted that validating their feelings, teaching them how to regulate their emotions, and giving them the space they need goes a long way towards building a parent-child relationship that can weather all the storms of those teenage years into adulthood.

“They're not mad at us or frustrated at us necessarily. Maybe it’s the lack of control. Maybe it's a really intense problem that they don’t know what to do with. Just let them have their space,” she advised. “Pretty soon, we have this connection where they’re bringing a lot more things to our attention instead of being sneaky or hiding or talking about it with their friends instead or Aunt Joan or whoever. They’re coming to us.”

She added that the group isn’t just for parents who have raised their kids since birth, but also grandparents, legal guardians, foster parents, and others who have teenagers they love and care for.

To attend the group, parents must go through an intake process at St. Anthony’s. Bennett encourages interested parents to call OSF Psychological Services at 618-474-6240 to start that process so you’re ready to go when the group starts in early May.

She acknowledged that it can be difficult to parent your children as they grow up and become more independent, but she reminds parents this is what they want for their kids. The new support group aims to make this transition easier and help parents feel less alone as they navigate through it.

“It might be different than the way you were raised. It might be different than the way you thought you were going to do it. But these are important skills that your kids are going to take into the world, too, as they become parents,” she said. “I hope that what this starts to do is not only set us up for success within our relationships with our kids and our spouses or our significant others, but also that we’re setting these kids up for successful relationships as they get older.”

For more information about OSF St. Anthony’s Health Center, visit their official website.

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