Shanti Mental Health Center · Elm Grove, WI
Dr. Himanshu Agrawal
MD · DF-APA · Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatrist · Psychoanalyst
"I may be the expert on medications. You are the expert on you."
Dr. Himanshu Agrawal is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist with over 20 years of clinical experience across a wide range of settings — from inpatient units and juvenile detention centers to outpatient clinics and academic medical centers. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (DF-APA), a recognition awarded to fewer than 10% of APA members in acknowledgment of significant contributions to the field.
Dr. Agrawal is also a trained psychoanalyst, bringing a depth of understanding to the psychological dimensions of mental health care that is rare among psychiatrists. His practice is grounded in the belief that medication and meaning are not separate — they are inseparable.
He trained in New Delhi and Minneapolis, and previously served as Medical Director of the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Clinics at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin.
A foundation built across two continents
Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology
Dr. Agrawal practices what he calls psychodynamic psychopharmacology — a framework coined by his friend and mentor Dr. David Mintz of the Austen Riggs Center. The approach holds that medication decisions are never purely biological. They are embedded in a patient's psychology, history, relationships, and sense of self, and they deserve to be treated that way.
He is also a firm believer in the BioPsychoSocial model, which recognizes that mental health at any given moment is shaped by biological, psychological, and social factors working together. Treatment plans at Shanti Mental Health Center reflect all three arenas — not just a prescription.
Dr. Agrawal's approach is deeply collaborative. He views himself as the expert on medications and clinical evidence; patients are the experts on their own lives. Decisions are made together, at the patient's pace, and every option — including the option to do nothing differently — is on the table.
Over a hundred presentations. One consistent message.
Throughout his career, Dr. Agrawal has served as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin and as Medical Director overseeing 12 psychiatry and behavioral medicine clinics at the Froedtert & MCW Tosa Health Center.
He has delivered over a hundred presentations to community audiences, school districts, fellow physicians, and national conferences — on topics ranging from adolescent substance use and childhood anxiety to burnout in medicine, racial equity in psychoanalysis, and the psychology of social media. His talks are known for being accessible, warm, and genuinely funny.
Dr. Agrawal served as Chair of the Candidates' Council of the American Psychoanalytic Association, where he was an advocate for making psychoanalytic training more affordable, more diverse, and more reflective of the communities it serves. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals and featured in media outlets including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WTMJ News.
He came to the United States from India in 2002, and brings to his practice a perspective shaped by immigration, cross-cultural experience, and a genuine curiosity about what it means to belong — in a family, a community, and a sense of self.
Rooted in the broader field
Professional Organizations
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