The Mind and Body Connection Helps Treat the Whole Person at The Center for Mindfulness

Although the practice of mindfulness has been around for thousands of years and was popularized in the East by religious and spiritual institutions such as Buddhism, this was the first of it’s kind in federal government.

Dr. Serpa first introduced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) to Veterans, which is an evidence-based program that was developed in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Over 9 weeks, Veterans learn 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, according to this 2011 study, "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction: A Non-Pharmacological Approach for Chronic Illnesses,” by Asfandyar Khan Niazi and Shaharyar Khan Niazi.

“We know that people that go through intensive mindfulness classes like MBSR have a really significant improvements in health markers that we can measure physiologically,” said Serpa. “So, what do we mean by that? Either blood plasma that we’re looking at markers for health or things inside your mouth like alpha amylase or cortisol are stress hormones that we can measure in saliva.”

Research shows that Veterans have significant measurable improvements in mental health after MBSR training, according to the 2014 study, “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Reduces Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidal Ideation in Veterans," by Greater Los Angeles VA  researchers, Drs. Serpa, Stephanie Taylor, and Kristen Tillisch.

“The Veterans want mindfulness. They want something other than pills for part of their care. They want to feel whole and connected deeply to their life and mindfulness is a great way of doing that,” said Serpa. 

Dennis Patterson, Navy Veteran and 80 years old, has taken mindfulness classes, including MSBR, at The Center for Mindfulness and credits his improved mental and physical health to his mindfulness practice.  Ten years ago, Patterson had quadruple bypass surgery and five years ago he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, but on May 23, 2024, the day of this interview, he received some great news from his VA doctors.

Heart function is normally 55, and Patterson said his heart function has gone from 45 to 55 since last October. His cardio ventricular tachycardia events decreased from 16% to 2%. "My doctors asked 'What do you attribute to that? Because we have not changed any of your medication.' and I thought for a second and I immediately realized it’s because I’ve been doing these mindful self-compassion meditation classes and mindfulness-based stress reduction meditation classes,” said Patterson.

When VAGLAHS started offering mindfulness classes to Veterans, there was a lot of interest nationally to expand this innovative work to other facilities, which led Dr. Serpa and Dr. Christiane Wolf, Head Consultant and MBSR Trainer, to create VA CALM, an internal year-long VA training program for clinicians in 2018 after originally piloting the program to a small number of local staff in 2016.

“Mindfulness training programs are expensive, and it can take years to become a mindfulness facilitator, and people that are interested in that have done this on their own time and their own dollar. If the VA wanted to meet the Veterans’ demand, we had to create something internally, so we could train staff that can offer something that is high quality,” said Serpa. 

Dr. Jessica Dennis is a Clinical Psychologist who works in the Integrative Health and Healing Center at VAGLAHS and is also the Program Manager of VA CALM. For her postdoctoral residency, she moved to Los Angeles to train in MBSR and other mindfulness-based interventions under Dr. Serpa, since it was the only VA facility at that time that offered this kind of fellowship training. 

“Developing a stronger ability to be more present and aware as a clinician, regardless of whether mindfulness training is the exact modality that you employ with patients, I think is just essential,” said Dennis. “I want to be the best clinician that I can, and I knew that this kind of training for myself, both professionally and personally, would help me become the clinician I aspire to be.” 

Dr. Michael Karakashian, Chief of Primary Care and Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) and Lead Faculty Member at VA CALM, also participated in the first cohort of VA CALM with Dennis.

“As a provider, I think it’s helpful for us to try things on and see how it works for us, and then that can help me have a sense of how it can be helpful for Veterans too. Mindfulness has been transformative for me and my own life, and I’ve seen in working with people for many years, with students of mindfulness and other practitioners of mindfulness, how beneficial it can be,” said Karakashian. 

To this day there is still incredible demand to be a VA CALM certified mindfulness facilitator. VA CALM continues to get hundreds of applicants every year for 200 slots. What initially began as an in-person training program at VAGLAHS, became a hybrid program before the pandemic, where clinicians trained here as well as virtually with live videos to complete their certification. Post pandemic, VA CALM has moved exclusively to a virtual format and trains VA clinicans across the nation.

Participants in VA CALM learn to establish their own personal practice and learn about the science behind the practice. Over the course of the training program, students study the psychology and history of mindfulness and it’s modern findings. They also learn how to lead and facilitate a group and guide Veterans, said Serpa.

"I was kind of a skeptic to a certain extent about the idea of meditation having that powerful of an impact on physical health," said Patterson. "But I'm a total believer now."

To learn more about the Center for Mindfulness or VA CALM please visit www.va.gov/greater-los-angeles-health-care/programs/whole-health/center-for-mindfulness/.