Dr. Na Zhang
张娜博士
I bring 20 years of educational and professional experiences in psychology, human development, and family science.
我在心理学、人类发展和家庭社会科学领域拥有20年的教育和专业经验。
About me
I hold a Ph.D. in Family Science from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), with advanced training in parenting skills, emotion regulation, and family stress. I completed postdoctoral training in Prevention Science at Arizona State University through a federally funded fellowship (National Institutes of Health), with a focus on self-compassion, bereavement, grief, and family-based interventions. I am a tenure-track faculty member at a top-ranked public research university in the United States and have authored more than forty academic publications. My recent work includes systematic reviews examining the science and practice of mindfulness programs designed for parents of children and adolescents, as well as for expecting parents during pregnancy.
Before beginning my professional journey in the United States, I was born and raised in Beijing, China. I earned my Master’s degree in Psychology from Tsinghua University (清华大学). My clinical training in group counseling under my mentor Fumin Fan (樊富珉) continues to shape how I hold space — with steadiness, attentiveness, and deep respect for the relational field that forms whenever people gather.
I also co-translated The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn) with Hui Qi Tong (童慧琦), published in Chinese as《穿越抑郁的正念之道》in 2015.
Alongside my academic and clinical training, I have cultivated a personal meditation practice for nearly two decades. I received formal training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School and continued advanced teacher development training through the Brown University Mindfulness Center. My teachers and mentors include Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli.
My personal life continues to deepen and ground my practice. As a parent of two biracial children, I am reminded daily of the spirit of beginner’s mind. As my parents enter advanced age, I also walk the path of an adult child caregiver. Through these relationships, I have come to see that strength and vulnerability often coexist; emotional intimacy and distance can both be held in nonjudgmental awareness. Tension can soften into tenderness, anger can transform into compassion, rigidity can relax into playfulness, and struggle can renew into growth.
Life unfolds on its own. The invitation is simple: come out of the thinking mind, and come back to the heart that knows how to open, feel, and love.
Read more about my mindfulness training experiences
2026 One-day program, “Intimacy Beyond the Wall: A Dialogue and Inquiry Intensive for Mindfulness-Based Program Teachers”, organized by Institut Pleine Conscience, Feb 8, online synchronous. With Saki Santorelli.
2025 Five-day program, “A Wide Net of Affection: Keeping Friendship’s Light Ablaze in Hard Times”, organized by Vækstcenteret, Sept 24 – 28, residential, Nørre Snede, Denmark. With Saki Santorelli.
2025 Five-day program, “Love’s Journey: Polishing the Mirror of the Heart”, organized by Copper Beech Institute, June 1 – June 5, residential, West Hartford, CT. With Saki Santorelli.
2025 One-day program, “Intimacy Beyond the Wall: A Dialogue and Inquiry Intensive for Mindfulness-Based Program Teachers”, organized by Institut Pleine Conscience, Feb 9, online synchronous. With Saki Santorelli.
2024 Invitational eight-day program, “Deepening inquiry, practice, and community in the greater mindfulness universe: An experimental international retreat within the non-dual embrace of noble silence and dialogue”, organized by the Omega Institute, May 26 – June 2, residential, Rhinebeck, NY. With Jon Kabat-Zinn.
2024 Dialogue & Inquiry for Mindfulness-Based Programs, organized by the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, 18 contact hours, Feb – Mar, online synchronous. Trainer: Lynn Koerbel.
2023 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Curriculum Study Group & Skill-Building Workshop, organized by the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, 25 contact hours, Jul – Sept, online synchronous. With Lynn Koerbel.
2022 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Advancement Intensive, organized by the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, 99 contact hours, Oct – Nov, online synchronous. Trainer: Lynn Koerbel and Kathleen Mitcheom.
2022 Eight-day silent meditation retreat, “Insight inside us”, organized by the Mindfulness Center at Brown University, July 22 – 29, online synchronous. With Bob Stahl, Eowyn Ahlstrom, and Kasim Al-mashat.
2017 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Fundamentals, organized by the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society, UMass Medical School, Jan 8 – 17, residential, Norwood, MA. With Bob Stahl and Carolyn West.
2016 Ten-day silent meditation retreat, “The deepening of love, awareness and wisdom”, organized by the Twin Cities Vipassana Collective, June 17 – 26, residential, Koinonia Retreat Center, MN. With Kamala Masters and Bonnie Duran.
2013 Seven-day program, “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine”, Nov 1 – 7, residential, Beijing. With Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli.
Heartful Awareness 