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About

Meet the Second Journey Counseling Team

Work with Second Journey

Nancy Schornack, LMHC, CDWF

I believe that relationships are at the heart of change and that one’s life is a meaningful story. If you were to ask me how I would best describe the counseling experience, I would say it is inviting another to read your story with you. In doing so, you can gain perspective about past chapters, live mindfully in the present, and author redemptive chapters to come.

Having received my master’s degree from Colorado Christian University, I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the State of Iowa and have over 30 years of counseling experience. I currently focus my clinical work with adults and couples and offer a variety of group, workshop, and retreat opportunities. I am also a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator (CDWF), and have received extensive training in the research and work of Dr. Brené Brown. In addition, I served her organization as a part of her training and consultation teams for many years.

My greatest joy is being married to Kent and enjoying adventures with our adult sons and their families. I love traveling, cheering on the ISU Cyclones, and being in my kayak enjoying the solitude and beauty of nature. I’ll be a forever learner so I engage avidly with podcasts and books. My life is fortified by my relationships with family and friends, and I am delighted to know, and be known by God.

No matter where light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing…such a lesson in life.

—Helen Mirren

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Nancy’s Areas of Expertise○

Counseling with women

I desire to help you cultivate emotional, relational, and spiritual balance and health. Drawing not only from my professional expertise, but also from “just living life,” I strive to understand women and all that accompanies them: friendships, singleness, partners, kids, busyness and clutter, order and control, comparison and perfectionism, loss and heartache, and the spiritual journey. Through participating in ongoing training, and learning every day from those I counsel, I stay equipped to address the unique challenges of depression, anxiety, ADD, disordered eating, grief, past/current trauma, relationships, and spiritual formation.

Counseling with couples in various seasons of life

I will work attentively to help you repair what has been broken, heal from betrayal, restore trust, renew friendship, increase intimacy, and become allies in life.

Delivering and facilitating the work of Dr. Brené Brown

The Daring Way™ is an organization that develops curriculum and resources based on the research and writing of Dr. Brené Brown, and extensively trains and certifies helping professionals to uniquely deliver this work. I have been a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator (CDWF) since 2012, and have completed intensive training to facilitate this work in groups, workshops, and counseling. I offer expertise in helping individuals and couples understand how to cultivate more courage, vulnerability, trust, and compassion into their lives, making a way for a life of deeper connections with ourselves, others, and God.

Consultation and professional development for helping professionals

Having been on the consultation team for The Daring Way™ for many years, I provided consultation for helping professionals who were becoming certified in the work of Dr. Brené Brown. I continue to be available for individual and/or group consultation to fellow Daring Way™ facilitators who are looking for mentoring and support in their Daring Way™ work. I also provide individual and/or group consultation for clinical concerns or practice development to clinicians who are seeking support in the work you do.

Kent Schornack, LISW, MA

Our relationships and the personal stories that shape us form the core of who we are and how we engage with life and the people around us. They hold our deepest joys and sadness, and they are at the heart of our most significant growth and healing. I deeply enjoy working with individuals and couples to help them better understand their concerns, contemplate how their past influences their present situation, and consider how they can navigate hopeful change. My desire is to provide people a safe place to talk about their lives so they may be better equipped to face life’s challenges and experience a greater sense of purpose and joy.

I am a Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) in the State of Iowa, having earned my MSW from the University of Iowa in 1989 and an M.A. in counseling from Colorado Christian University in 1995 with an emphasis in counseling from a biblical perspective. My past clinical experiences include:

  • 4 years of work in residential and outpatient counseling with Lutheran Social Services
  • 5 years of school social work with Heartland Area Education Agency
  • 11 years in a private counseling practice
  • 16 years as the Director of Leadership & Counseling at Grand View University

I currently work with Heartland Area Education Agency as a School Social Worker, and maintain a part-time private counseling and consulting practice with Second Journey Counseling. I love to learn and I participate in ongoing specialized training opportunities to further my development as a counselor. Outside of work, the outdoors…being in the midst of nature, hiking, camping, and kayaking, is my sweet spot! I am deeply loved, supported, and inspired by my wife, Nancy, as well as the joy and love I receive from family. My faith is an integral core of who I am, and the source of my direction and purpose in life.

Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.

—Susan Statham

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Kent’s Areas of Expertise○

Individual counseling

It is an honor to walk alongside and support individuals and couples in their own journeys toward healing and wholeness. The majority of the people I meet with are seeking help with anxiety and depression, relational concerns, trauma and abuse, loss, pastoral care, spiritual formation, and overall personal development. I strive to engage relationally with authenticity, wisdom, sincerity, empathy, and celebration.

Counseling with couples

I enjoy supporting couples in their various seasons of life, helping them to grow in the midst of difficult circumstances, repair and strengthen their relationship, renew their faith, be more deeply connected, and live more passionate and engaged lives.

Counseling pastors and leaders

Being a leader presents its own unique challenges and joys that can be difficult to balance amidst high community expectations and healthy engagement with family. I am particularly drawn to providing pastors and leaders with a safe and confidential space to talk openly about the challenges of their calling and to address their own emotional and spiritual well-being along with that of their families.

Facilitating leadership development and the building of healthy teams

Leadership is a relational endeavor and I am passionate about helping teams thrive and work toward their full potential by addressing foundational matters of trust, and building safety and structure so that diverse engagement and innovation can flourish. I am a certified facilitator for Everything DiSC® and Five Behaviors of Cohesive Teams®, which has provided me with training and tools that provide insight to help individuals and teams better understand themselves so they may relate in more healthy and productive ways.

Andrea McFarlan, Administrative Assistant

I provide administrative assistance for Second Journey Counseling, doing intakes, scheduling, and helping clients manage their Therapy Appointment accounts. I also manage registrations for workshops and events. I was born and raised in Des Moines, and hold an undergraduate degree in social work. During my social work career, I counseled adolescents in a treatment program. For the past 31 years, I have been a licensed massage therapist. In my free time, my husband and I volunteer with youth, young adults, and our church’s neighborhood partnership. We also enjoy traveling to new and different destinations and camping around Iowa. I also enjoy painting, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. My husband and I have two grown sons, two daughters-in-law, and one grandchild.

Work with Second Journey

Certifications

The Daring Way™ is an organization that develops curriculum and resources based on the research and writing of Dr. Brené Brown, and extensively trains and certifies helping professionals to uniquely deliver this work. Dr. Brown, PhD, LMSW, is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. Dr. Brown’s work transforms individuals, marriages, families, and the workplace, and taps into what we were all profoundly and deeply created for—love and belonging. Nancy has been a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator-Consultant (CDWF-C) since 2012, and has completed intensive training to facilitate this work in groups, workshops, and counseling.

Everything DiSC® is a transformational tool that helps people better understand themselves and others. It is one of the simplest and most robust relationship models available, providing pertinent solutions to build better relationships and teaming behavior. Participants complete an individually tailored assessment that delivers a 20-page profile measuring their relational preferences and tendencies, and those of their team. The report, combined with skilled facilitation, offers insights, common language, and applicable skills to strengthen and create more dynamic teams.

The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team assessment and development program combines the power of Everything DiSC® with Patrick Lencioni’s five behaviors model for building productive and cohesive teams. In addition to assessing team members’ DiSC profiles, participants are asked to respond to questions that evaluate the actual functioning of their team based on the five essential behaviors of trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results. Responses are anonymous, and a team profile is created that helps delineate both problem and strength areas on the team, providing a powerful tool for teams to enhance their understanding, implement best practices, and heighten their success.

Work with Second Journey
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