Dr. Shawna (McDonell) Hembree

My Story

I consider myself a Florida native since we moved to Ormond Beach in 1990.  After graduating from Seabreeze High School (c/o 1997), I enlisted in the Navy as an Air Traffic Controller.  After extensive world travel and wonderful experiences, I was honorably discharged and began exploring my interests and desires in helping families and individuals on their personal journeys to healing and exploration.  I began working as a counselor in 2010 at a Pregnancy Crisis Center in Southern California, and that experience is what God used to draw me in to the field of counseling as a long-term profession.  I studied Psychology and Marriage and Family Therapy at California Baptist University from 2010-2012.  I took a break from my schooling after having twins in 2012, and then another set of twins in 2014.  During that year, we also moved back to Florida.  In 2020, I went through an extremely painful separation and divorce after being together for 23 years. I unexpectedly became a single parent to four young children.  Because of this experience, I understand the pain, rejection, fear and anxieties not only for myself, but for my children as we learned to navigate a new, more challenging, family dynamic. God, in His great mercy, lovingly pushed me along in my education and I received my Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling from Liberty University in 2022.  The following year, I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Christian Counseling through Jacksonville Theological Seminary.  My counseling license is through the National Christian Counselors Association (NCCA).  I am also a member of The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).  I have been a Certified PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator since 2021, which is an exceptional program fostering strong marriages and healthy relationships.  Recently, I have remarried and am enjoying the blessings of a blended family.

God has used all of my experiences, trauma, pain, healing and joy in order to walk alongside others who are in the midst of their own struggles.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "Blessed be the... God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Advanced Certification:

Certified PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitator 

Marriage and Family

Youth/Teens

Temperament Training and Counseling

Areas of Study and Experience:

Veteran transitions

PTSD

Depression and Anxiety

Parenting (& Single Parenting) Issues

Separation & Divorce (Youth and Adults)

Schooling/Homeschooling

Stress Management

Grief Loss

Faith/Identity Struggles

Sexual Abuse

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