Debi Jenkins Frankle
She/Her | M.S. | LMFT #32961
Debi Jenkins Frankle, LMFT, is a seasoned grief therapist, educator, and trainer with over 30 years of experience. She co-founded a grief center to serve a long-standing need in her community and currently teaches practicum at Pepperdine University. She provides clinical training in grief and loss for therapists and mental health professionals.
Her clinical work focuses on individuals grieving death, addiction, mental illness, chronic illness, and family estrangement. She specializes in working with disenfranchised grief, including clients marginalized by race, sexual orientation, or relational status. Therapeutic modalities include narrative therapy, meaning reconstruction, psychoeducation, and structured writing exercises. She is also trained in the Columbia Prolonged Grief Disorder protocol.
Debi’s approach is deeply informed by her personal experiences with grief, including the deaths of her parents, brother, and multiple infertility losses. These experiences guide her therapeutic presence and her belief in the value of experiential knowing. She uses selective self-disclosure to reduce client isolation and reinforce that healing is possible.
Debi integrates personal rituals, community connection, and professional transparency into her grief work. She believes grief therapists should not ask clients to do any work they haven’t done themselves and is committed to modeling this integration in all aspects of her practice.
Specialities
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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful, evidence-based approach for healing trauma, grief, and distressing life events. By using bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping), EMDR helps the brain reprocess overwhelming memories so they feel less charged and more resolved. Whether you're navigating traumatic loss, anxiety, or long-held emotional pain, EMDR offers a path toward deeper relief and integration.
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With ART, I guide you through imagery and visualization techniques that help shift the way distressing memories are stored in the brain. Many clients find relief more quickly than with traditional talk therapy. I use ART to help you reduce symptoms of trauma, anxiety, depression, and other difficult emotions in a focused, empowering way.
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Grief can be quiet or consuming, predictable or surprising. Whether you're mourning a recent death, grieving a past loss, or adjusting to the absence of someone or something meaningful, therapy offers a place to be held in it all. There’s no timeline for grief — just a need for space, compassion, and a process that fits you. Together, we’ll explore what’s been lost and what might still be found.
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Losing someone suddenly and violently—through overdose, murder, or other trauma—can leave you with layers of grief, shock, anger, and unanswered questions. I create a safe space for you to process these painful experiences at your own pace. Together, we focus on reducing trauma responses while honoring your grief, so you can move toward integration and meaning-making.
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Later life brings unique transitions—retirement, caregiving responsibilities, health changes, the loss of loved ones, or shifts in identity and purpose. I offer therapy that supports older adults as they navigate these changes with dignity and meaning. Whether you're facing grief, anxiety, relationship shifts, or simply seeking a safe place to reflect, I provide compassionate, age-affirming care that respects the depth of your lived experience.
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Estrangement can be an invisible loss—one that’s hard to talk about, yet deeply painful. Whether you’re estranged from a parent, child, sibling, or another loved one, this experience can bring up grief, guilt, confusion, and ongoing uncertainty. I offer a nonjudgmental space to process what led to the estrangement, explore the emotional impact, and consider what healing might look like for you—whether that involves reconciliation, boundaries, or acceptance. Your story is honored here, without pressure or assumptions.
Links:
Email: Debi@CalabasasCounseling.com
Instagram: DebiJenkinsFrankle
Youtube: DebiJenkinsFrankleLMFT
Schedule an Appointment with Debi at Calabasas Counseling
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