Greg Serpa, PhD

J. Greg Serpa, PhD, is a clinical psychologist for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. He is honored to teach mindfulness to America’s veterans and is the first full-time mindfulness teacher and trainer in the federal system. He is developing a national mindfulness certification program for VA clinicians based upon his book, co-authored with Christiane Wolf, The Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness.

Greg is a Clinical Professor in the psychology department at UCLA and a visiting clinical scientist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His published research on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) includes improvements in anxiety, depression, pain and other health outcomes. At the UCLA Center for the Neurobiology of Stress, Greg is part of a team exploring the capacity for MBSR to re-wire the brain for more peace and ease, and alter the microbiome in the gut to improve mood and immune function. Greg hopes to start surfing lessons this summer in Santa Monica with his 8-year-old son and is grateful to include InsightLA as his meditation community.