About Dr. Agrawal

 

Welcome to Face Together Wellness. 

Dr. Agrawal is a physician who founded Face Together Wellness to address gaps in traditional mental health care and provide treatment led by patients.

My Journey

From the age of 5 to 10, I was raised in India. During this time, I learned about my heritage and society. Children who looked like me tapped on our car window begging for money. My grandmother who waited for me at my bus stop with her head covered by a thin, white sari was the strongest woman I knew. She delivered thousands of babies as the village midwife. My dad and uncles sought her counsel and listened to what she had to say. By international agency metrics though, my Umma was considered “less empowered” because she could not read. Reflecting on these early experiences, I realized that my life and the life experiences of others are invaluable and true, because they are real. And the meaning we derive from our life may contradict experts and institutions. I took away, on a personal level, that mental health is shaped by us, and the context in which we are embedded.

My Approach

In my practice, your story is central; and you drive treatment. Therapy, medication, theory, and scientific evidence are guides. As your doctor, I strive to be clear and caring while respecting your autonomy. I do not contract with insurance companies. Let us collaborate. I invite you to share your journey–where you’ve been and where you want to go.

Education

College and Graduate

  • B.A. in Anthropology (2002), Rice University, Houston, TX
  • M.P.H. in Occupational and Environmental Health (2005), University of Texas, School of Public Health-Houston, TX
  • Ph.D. in Maternal and Child Health (2009), UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Post-Doctoral Fellow (2010), Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University
 

Medical

  • M.D. (2016), UT McGovern Medical School, Houston TX
  • Residency in Adult Psychiatry (2020), UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

Work Experience

My professional work is clinically focused on the needs of unique populations and novel treatment areas in the field of psychiatry. I was an attending physician in the Women Veterans’ Mental Health Clinic based out of the VA Hospital in West-LA before I came to private practice. I saw and treated women veterans for a wide variety of psychiatric conditions including chronic medical conditions and sexual and reproductive health issues. I worked with women who identified as racial and ethnic minorities and gender and sexual minorities. My research focused on how to improve women’s health care experiences within the larger VA system. 

 

Before starting my own practice, I held an appointment in UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry as an Assistant Clinical Professor and Physician Wellness Officer. I oversaw department efforts to understand and address mental health challenges of health professionals, especially doctors, as they worked in stressful, demanding environments during and after COVID.  

Distinctions

Institutional

  • Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program, Rice University
  • Graduate School Merit Award, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
  • VA Center for Healthcare, Innovation, Implementation & Policy, Locally Initiated Project, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System

 

National

  • David Rosenstein HIV/AIDS Award, American Public Health Association.
  • APA Junior Investigator Research Colloquium Award, American Psychiatric Association

Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications

  1. Pomerantz, J. R., Agrawal, A., Jewell, S. W., Jeong, M., Khan, H., and Lozano, S. C. (2003) Contour grouping inside and out by side of facial contexts. Acta Psychologica, 114, 3, 245-271. 
  2. Gupta, J., Agrawal, A. (2010). Chronic aftershocks of an earthquake on the well-being of children in Haiti: violence, psychosocial health and slavery. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 182, 18, 1997-1999. 
  3. Beletsky, L., Agrawal, A., Moreau, B., Kumar, P., Weiss-Laxer, N., Heimer, R. (2011). Police training to align law enforcement and HIV prevention: preliminary evidence from the field. American Journal of Public Health. 101, 11, 2012-2015. 
  4. Antony, K. M., Agrawal, A., Arndt, M. E., Murphy, A. M., Alapat, P. M., Guntupalli, K. K., & Aagaard, K. M. (2014). Association of adverse perinatal outcomes with screening measures of obstructive sleep apnea. Journal of Perinatology, 34(6), 441-448. 
  5. Antony, K. M., Agrawal, A., Arndt, M. E., Murphy, A. M., Alapat, P. M., Guntupalli, K. K., & Aagaard, K. M. (2014). Obstructive sleep apnea in pregnancy: reliability of prevalence and prediction estimates. Journal of Perinatology, 34(8), 587-593. 
  6. Agrawal, A., Bloom, S. S., Suchindran, C., Curtis, S., & Angeles, G. (2014). Gender-based power and couples’ HIV risk in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, North India. International perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 40(4), 196-205. 
  7. Agrawal, A., Ickovics, J., Lewis, J. B., Magriples, U., & Kershaw, T. S. (2014). Postpartum intimate partner violence and health risks among young mothers in the United States: A prospective study. Maternal and child health journal, 18(8), 1985-1992. 
  8. Bloom, S. S., Agrawal, A., Singh, K. K., & Suchindran, C. M. (2015). Gender inequality and the risk of HIV among married couples in North India. AIDS care,27(2), 168-175. 
  9. Agrawal, A., Gitlin, M., Melancon, S.N.T., Booth, B.I., Ghandhi, J. and DeBonis, K. (2021). Responding to a tragedy: evaluation of a postvention protocol among adult psychiatry residents. Academic psychiatry, 45(3), 262-271. 
  10. Heldt, J.P., Agrawal, A., Loeb, R., Richards, M.C., Castillo, E.G. and DeBonis, K., (2021). We’re not sure we like it but we still want more: trainee and faculty perceptions of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic Psychiatry, 45(5), 598-602. 
  11. Sanford, J., Agrawal, A. and Miotto, K. (2021). Psychological distress among women healthcare workers: a health system’s experience developing emotional support services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 2, 614-723. 
  12. Carlson, G.C., Than, C.T., Rose, D., Brunner, J., Chanfreau-Coffinier, C., Canelo, I.A., Klap, R., Bean-Mayberry, B., Agrawal, A., Hamilton, A.B. and Gerber, M.R.(2022). What Drives Women Veterans’ Trust in VA Healthcare Providers?. Women’s Health Issues. 
  13. Agrawal A, De La Torre K, Cooper C, Flores J, Miotto K, Wells K, Bromley E, Yano EM, Heldt J, Castillo EG, DeBonis K., (2023). Before and During the First COVID-19 Surge: Work Conditions, Burnout, and Mental Health Among Resident Physicians in a Department of Psychiatry in the USA. Academic Psychiatry, 1-6. 


Book Chapters

  1. Agrawal, A., Martin, J.L. Insomnia in older adults. In: Kushida C, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (Second Edition). New York (NY): Academic Press; 2023. p. 1-7. (Diagnosis of Insomnia; vol 3).
  2. Galion, A.W., MacLean, J., Agrawal, A. and Martin, J.L., 2023. Ontogeny of insomnia. In: Kushida C, Encyclopedia of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms (Second Edition). New York (NY): Academic Press; 2023. p. 214-18. (Diagnosis of Insomnia; vol 3).