Northwestern will welcome Nancy Shornack, mental health counselor, to campus Jan. 25 – 26. During her time on campus, Shornack will speak at the NED Talk on Thursday and chapel on Friday.
The main focus for her NED Talk is shame resiliency. While in chapel, she will primarily focus on the topic of trusting and walking with God through shame.
“Shame plays a sneaky, insidious, albeit domineering role in the stories of our lives,” Shornack said. “It is a terribly unpleasant experience, but even more it is a destructive ‘not enough’ story, wielded by evil to chain us into some state of living small, or puffed up … robbing us from living as our truest selves who reflect the ‘enough’ image of God in us.”
A Certified Daring Way Facilitator-Consultant (CDWF-C), Shornack helps couples and individuals understand the operation of shame in their lives and how to move through it toward wholehearted living. Additionally, Shornack trains and mentors other counseling professionals.
During her NED Talk, Shornack plans to show shame resiliency through a personal story.
“[My goal is to] provide a basic understanding of shame as the fear of disconnection and loss of love and belonging,” Shornack said, “[as well as] identify common strategies of self-protection and explore how we collaborate with God to quiet shame and be our most authentic selves in relationships with others,.
The topic of shame will be further explored in chapel.
“[I will] explore how shame shows up in the Garden of Eden and creates fear, blame and disconnection, and how Jesus shows up with courage, compassion and connection to give back dignity,” she said.
Pursuing a career in psychology and counseling, Shornack obtained a B.A. in psychology from Central College and a Master’s degree in biblical counseling from Colorado Christian University. She is now a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Iowa and has over 30 years of counseling experience.
Together, she and her husband own Second Journey Counseling in Johnston, Iowa, where Shornack regularly counsels adults, individuals and couples.
“My main career focus,” Shornack said, “is supporting clients and helping them gain emotional, spiritual and relational well-being.”
The NED Talk will take place at 11:05 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 25 in the Vogel Room. Friday morning chapel will take place at its regular time of 10:05 a.m.
