Center for Mindfulness
The Center for Mindfulness at Greater Los Angeles VA is the national hub for mindfulness-based interventions in the VA. Located in the Integrative Health and Healing Center, The Center for Mindfulness offers a wide variety of courses to Veterans to promote wholeness, enhance well-being and alleviate suffering. The Center for Mindfulness is also home to VA CALM, the national mindfulness facilitators training program for VA clinicians.
What is mindfulness?
According to Jon Kabat-Zin, the founder for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), the definition of mindfulness is “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.” Often in our lives, our attention is focused on thoughts about the past or the future, rather than on this present moment. Rumination about the past can lead to depression and worries about the future can lead to anxiety. Training ourselves to bring attention to the present moment, especially when done with kindness and curiosity, helps to decrease negative mood states and improves our ability to cope better with life’s challenges.
How is mindfulness practice helpful?
The positive effects of mindfulness practice are well documented. Regular mindfulness practice has been shown to improve self-awareness and well-being, and decrease stress, worry, rumination, anxiety, self-criticism, emotional reactivity, and chronic pain, plus more. It has also been shown to improve the quality of one’s relationships. Mindfulness practitioners learn to bring an attitude of curiosity, openness, spaciousness, and kindness to present moment experience. By learning these skills, practitioners can find an inner stillness, increase their distress tolerance, and learn to hold the moment- to-moment changes in life with more calmness and less reactivity.
Still have questions about Mindfulness?
The following are a series of educational videos produced by the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System explaining Mindfulness, its benefits, and how to begin a practice.
Testimonials from Veterans
“Since I returned from combat, I have been on every psych pill that they make. After the MBSR class, I finally feel like my life is worth living again. Please offer this class to every vet that comes back from a combat zone. It’s a life saver”
“I have had chronic pain for years. I’m finally getting some relief. I just wish I had found these classes sooner.”
“My family sure has noticed. They keep asking ‘who is this happy smiling guy?’ But most importantly, I didn’t know I could actually like myself again.”
Groups for Veterans
Currently all classes are run online via WebEx
Introduction to Mindfulness
This is a 6-week group for beginners new to mindfulness practice. The group introduces various practices of mindfulness, for example: mindfulness of breath, body, sound, feelings, thinking, and loving kindness practice. It is for veterans who wish to begin a consistent mindfulness practice or deepen the one they already have.
When: The group meets on WebEx for 6 weeks. New groups start up every two months. Classes are held from 9:30 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. on Wednesdays. All participants must start at the beginning of the 6-week program.
Contact: Please call Dr. Steinberg at
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MBSR is an evidence-based program that was developed in the 1980s by Jon Kabat-Zinn. There is tremendous research on the effectiveness of this program, and it is taught around the world. Over the course of 9 weeks, Veterans will learn a variety of formal and informal mindfulness meditation practices that have been shown to decrease stress, anxiety, depression, and the suffering that comes from chronic pain and other physical health conditions.
When: The group meets quarterly, during the winter, spring, summer and fall. The class schedule varies. Currently, the class will be held on Fridays from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. There is a 4 -hour silent retreat scheduled in the middle of the 9-week series. All participants must start at the beginning of the 9-week program. Veterans must attend 80% of the class sessions in order to complete this group.
Contact: Please call
Mindful Living
Mindful Living is a weekly drop-in group available to graduates of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) groups that are provided through the Integrative Health and Healing Program. The group provides a setting in which veterans can build and maintain a mindfulness practice in community with other Veterans and helps to strengthen mindfulness skills. Veterans engage in longer mindfulness practices as well as discussions about the practice. This group is not for beginners, but for Veterans who have an established and/or routine mindfulness practice.
When: The group meets weekly and is on-going/drop-in. It is held on Mondays from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Contact: Please call
Mindful Movement
Mindful Movement is a weekly drop-in group available to graduates of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) groups through the Integrative Health and Healing Program. Using gentle movement, breathwork, and guided meditation, Veterans can join in community through chair-based mindful movement and meditation practice. Research has shown that mindfulness-based practices can lower stress, increase resilience, and improve mood and quality of life.
When: The schedule for this group is TBA.
Contact: Please call
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC)
MSC is a 9-week group that teaches mindfulness and self-compassion practices to support well-being. It was developed by two psychologists, Drs. Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer. Group participants learn mindfulness techniques as well as strategies to be with their experience/feelings in a self-compassionate manner rather than pushing them away. There is considerable research demonstrating that this class improves well-being and teaches participants to be kinder and more compassionate with themselves and others.
When: The group meets quarterly, like MBSR. It is held on Mondays from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. All participants must start at the beginning of the 9-week program. Veterans must attend 80% of the class sessions in order to complete this group.
Contact: Please call Dr. Steinberg at
Mindfulness for Tinnitus
Mindfulness for Tinnitus is a collaboration between audiology and psychology that teaches mindfulness skills, valued action, and audiology concepts to decrease the distress caused by tinnitus. Tinnitus is an experience of ringing or other noises in one of both of the ears that is not caused by the sounds in the environment. Mindfulness practice has been found to be effective in relieving the considerable discomfort caused by this condition.
When: Tuesdays, 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. This group is typically scheduled once per quarter.
Contact: Please contact Dr. Dennis at
Women’s Mindfulness for Stress Management
Women’s Mindfulness for Stress Management is a weekly drop-in group in which women Veterans are led through a 20-30 minute mindfulness practice that differs each week. Participants engage in an inquiry and a discussion of themes that emerge. This group is for women Veterans who have some knowledge of mindfulness and/or have a regular practice or already have taken a mindfulness class. It allows women Veterans to have a regular community of practice to maintain and strengthen their mindfulness skills, gain support from peers, and improve their overall sense of well-being.
When: This group meets weekly on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. This is a drop-in group in which participants can join this group at any time.
Contact: Please call Dr. Steinberg at
Yoga for Positive Mood
Yoga for Positive Mood is a 6-week group for Veterans struggling with low mood, depression and/or anxiety who are interested in learning foundational skills in yoga and mindfulness. This class emphasizes mind/body connection through meditation, breathwork and movement. Research has shown the benefits of yoga for boosting mood, as well as a variety of other health benefits. The class is co-facilitated by clinical psychologists and a certified yoga instructor (E-RYT-500). No prior yoga experience is necessary.
When: The schedule for this group is TBA.
Contact: Please call
Additional Resources
VA Mindfulness Meditation Resources
VA Mindfulness Meditation Resources
Offers handouts, informational videos, guided meditations, and more.
Smart Phone App:
VA Calm Recordings:
*Non-VA Mindfulness Meditation Resources
- USCD Center for Mindfulness Website - Guided mindfulness meditations and mindful movement
- UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center Website – Guided practices, latest research and more.
- Center For MSC
- Chris Germer's Self-Compassion Website – Handouts, exercises, guided meditations
- Sharing Mindfulness Website – Handouts, guided meditations, mindful movement practices and more.
- Loving Kindness Meditation led by Dr. Susan Steinberg-Oren
*Residential Retreat Centers
- Spirit Rock - An Insight Meditation Center - Marin County, California
- Insight Meditation Society - Barre, Massachusetts
- Insight Retreat Center - Santa Cruz, California
*Books
General Mindfulness Books:
- Wherever You Go There You Are (Kabat-Zinn, 2005)
- Full Catastrophe Living (Kabat-Zinn, 1990)
- Radical Acceptance (Brach, 2003)
- Coming to Our Senses (Kabat-Zinn, 2005)
- Real Happiness (Salzberg, 2011)
Compassion-Focused Books:
- The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion (Germer, 2009)
- Self-Compassion (Neff, 2011)
- Loving-Kindness (Salzberg, 2002)
Mindfulness for Depression:
- The Mindful Way Through Depression (Williams, Teasdale, Segal, & Kabat-Zinn, 2007)
Mindfulness for Chronic Pain:
- Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain (Siegel, 2001)
- Outsmart Your Pain (Wolf, 2021)
Mindfulness and Eating:
- Mindful Eating (Bays, 2009)
- The Joy of Half a Cookie (Kristeller, 2015)
Multicultural-Sensitive Mindfulness
- Awakening Together (Yang, 2017)
- Mindful of Race (King, 2018)
* These resources are provided as a courtesy of GLAVAHCS. These links, products, agencies or providers are NOT affiliated with VA nor should be considered as an endorsement by VA. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government.&; The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Meet the Team
J. Greg Serpa PhD
Clinical Psychologist
VA Greater Los Angeles health care
Phone: 310-478-3711 ext. 49563
Email: john.serpa@va.gov
J. Greg Serpa, PhD, is a clinical psychologist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare system and the National Mindfulness Consultant for the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation. He is honored to teach mindfulness to America's veterans and is the first full-time mindfulness teacher and trainer in the federal system. Dr. Serpa is a Clinical Professor at UCLA, an active researcher, and continues his work leading the VA’s national mindfulness facilitator training and certification program. Greg is the co-author of The Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness. During the pandemic, he has been deeply committed to his family’s “Chocolate Cake Challenge”…. The ongoing quest for the prefect chocolate cake.
Jessica Dennis PhD
Clinical Psychologist
VA Greater Los Angeles health care
Phone: 310-478-3711 ext. 44903
Email: jessica.dennis4@va.gov
Jessica Dennis, PhD, is a clinical psychologist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare system and serves as the Program Manager and Lead Faculty member for the VA’s national mindfulness facilitator training program. She is a proud Chicagoan whose desire to teach mindfulness-based interventions lured her over to the west coast. She enjoys hiking, baking, and watching stand-up comedy with her friends and family, and will travel anywhere with lofty mountain peaks and crystal blue lakes. She is also working on letting go of disappointment for not being an invited guest judge for Dr. Serpa’s Chocolate Cake Challenge.
Susan Steinberg-Oren PhD
Clinical Psychologist
VA Greater Los Angeles health care
Phone: 310-317-3711 ext. 43125
Email: susan.steinberg-oren@va.gov
Susan Steinberg-Oren, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist in Integrative Health and Healing at the Greater Los Angeles VA Health Care System (VAGLAHCS). She has worked at VAGLAHCS for the last 32 years, serving in many capacities including Director of Training for the Psychology Pre-doctoral Internship Program and Lead Psychologist in Women’s Mental Health. Over the past 8 years, she has dived deeply into mindfulness and Buddhist psychology which has led to her certification as a mindfulness facilitator and trained teacher in Mindful Self-Compassion. She’s a beginning ceramicist who enjoys hiking and biking in California and beyond. And, she’s hoping, one day, to taste Dr. Serpa’s celebrated chocolate cake!