Grief Counseling & Bereavement Therapy in Encino, CA
There Is No Right Way to Grieve
Compassionate grief counseling for adults navigating loss — whether it happened recently or years ago, whether it was expected or sudden, whether others understand it or not.
Grief Deserves More Than Time
We live in a culture that is deeply uncomfortable with grief. There are unspoken timelines, expectations to 'move on,' and a tendency to minimize losses that don't fit a narrow definition of what counts as significant. The result is that many people grieve alone — and carry that weight far longer than they need to.
Dr. Carrie Jacobs provides a space where grief is met without judgment, without rushing, and without the pressure to feel any particular way. Whether you are in the raw early days of loss or still carrying something that happened years ago, therapy offers a place to process what you're holding — at your own pace.
Grief is not a problem to be solved. But it is something that can be moved through — with the right support.
All Losses Are Valid
Grief doesn't only follow death. It follows any significant loss — and your pain doesn't need to be justified to anyone.
Signs Grief May Need Support
Grief that isn't lifting
Months have passed but the pain feels as raw as it did at the beginning — or it's getting harder, not easier.
Isolation & withdrawal
You've pulled away from people, activities, and things that used to matter — and can't find the motivation to reconnect.
Complicated feelings
Grief mixed with guilt, anger, relief, or ambivalence that feels confusing or shameful to acknowledge.
Functioning is affected
Sleep, appetite, work, or relationships are significantly disrupted — and you're struggling to manage daily life.
How Dr. Jacobs Supports Grief
There is no single protocol for grief. Dr. Jacobs draws on multiple evidence-informed approaches, following your lead and adapting to what you need at each stage of the process.
Grief-Focused Therapy
A compassionate, non-pathologizing approach that honors the uniqueness of your loss and your relationship with the person or thing you've lost.
Complicated Grief Treatment (CGT)
For grief that has become stuck or prolonged, CGT is a structured, evidence-based approach specifically designed to help people move through complicated bereavement.
Trauma-Informed Care
When loss was sudden, violent, or traumatic, grief and trauma are intertwined. Treatment addresses both — in the right sequence and at the right pace.
Meaning-Making Therapy
Drawing on narrative and existential approaches to help you find a way to carry your loss — integrating it into your life story without being defined by it.
Somatic & Body-Based Work
Grief lives in the body. Somatic approaches help release the physical weight of loss — the tightness, the exhaustion, the numbness — that talk alone can't always reach.
Mindfulness & Self-Compassion
Build the capacity to be present with grief without being overwhelmed — and to treat yourself with the kindness you would offer anyone else who was hurting.
What Grief Counseling Looks Like
Free Consultation
A 20-minute call to share what you're going through, ask questions, and see whether working together feels like the right fit — no pressure, no commitment.
Your Story, Your Pace
Early sessions focus on understanding your loss, your relationship with what you've lost, and what you need most right now. There is no agenda beyond your wellbeing.
Processing & Integration
As trust builds, we work through the layers of grief — the feelings, the memories, the identity shifts — helping you integrate the loss rather than avoid it.
Carrying It Forward
The goal is not to 'get over' your loss but to find a way to carry it that allows you to live fully — honoring what you've lost while re-engaging with life.
You Don't Have to Carry This Alone
Reaching out when you're grieving takes courage. Dr. Jacobs offers a free 20-minute consultation — a gentle first step toward finding some relief.