Yuval Yaari

That philosophy took hold early in his training. In his first semester of physical therapy school at Touro College, Yaari was assigned to shadow a clinician at NYU Langone Health's Occupational & Industrial Orthopedic Center, a clinic specializing in complex chronic cases. What he witnessed changed the direction of his career.

“The PT sat us in the room and started talking about the biopsychosocial model—how every time we see someone, it's a lot more involved than just bones, ligaments, tendons. There's a person, there are social circles, there's psychology, and how everything is all intertwined,” he recalls. “I had all these light bulbs light up.” That moment pointed Yaari toward working with people who experience chronic pain, a specialty that he has pursued across every clinical setting since.

Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Yaari initially studied computer science and electrical engineering because he loved the challenge of problem solving. He then found his way to anatomy and physiology, and developed a love for sports medicine. After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, he went on to earn his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Touro College in New York, where he was the recipient of the Maimonides Award for academic excellence and professional ideals.

During his graduate studies, Yaari trained at EXOS, the elite sports performance facility founded by Mark Verstegen in San Diego, where he worked with professional NFL, NBA, and rugby players. There, he learned everything about his patients’ needs, developed detailed plans, and saw how to pivot when patients needed additional support. “More than anything, what I learned was the importance of being very methodical and proactive,” he says. “Being prepared means you have a plan so if the patient experiences any issues you can change course easily and find new ways to help them.”

After graduation, Yaari built his clinical experience across a range of settings in New York City: high-volume sports rehabilitation, post-operative care, vestibular therapy, and the chronic pain work he had been drawn to since PT school. His time at NYU Langone’s Occupational & Industrial Orthopedic Center deepened his expertise in the biopsychosocial model, allowing him to help patients with complex, long-standing pain return to work and daily function. He later joined Equilibrium Physical Therapy on the Upper East Side, serving as the practice’s specialist on chronic pain and orthopedic rehabilitation, and then moved to New England Baptist Hospital’s Outpatient Spine Center in Boston, a leading site for complex cases and spinal research.

Throughout his career, Yaari's approach has centered on listening first. “The most important thing is always to listen to what people have to say so you understand where they’re coming from, how they got their injuries, and their motivations for getting better,” he says. He tells patients: “You are the person who knows your body best.” Yaari takes the time to do detailed assessments, using a patient’s history, goals, and their relationship to movement to build individualized plans that blend manual therapy, exercise progression, and pain education. He believes that helping someone feel good in their own body, whether that involves incremental steps or larger changes, is the fundamental goal of his work.

Yaari has long paired clinical practice with a commitment to education. He served as an Adjunct Professor at Touro College for several years, teaching in both the traditional Doctor of Physical Therapy program and in the post-professional DPT program, designed for international physical therapists seeking their doctorate in the United States. He has also taken many courses from organizations like the North American Institute of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy and 360 Neuro Health to continue learning throughout his career.

At Atria, Yaari is drawn to an environment where collaboration and creative problem solving are not just encouraged but expected. “I love that Atria is a place where we can spread our wings and think outside the box to help each patient in the way that works best for them,” Yaari says. Collaborating with colleagues across Atria’s interdisciplinary care team, he assesses each patient’s performance and movement to design proactive plans that support long-term mobility, resilience, and well-being.

Outside of work, Yaari enjoys hiking, trying new restaurants, and spending time with his wife, their new son, and the family’s German Shepherd–Rottweiler mix.