Avery Joharchi, PT, DPT, OTR/L

"Occupational Therapy helps treat people with an injury or illness through therapeutic use of everyday activities. We help these clients develop, recover, prevent, and improve the skills needed for their daily living. OTs can help someone get back to walking their dog after a hand surgery. Or with executive functioning skills like with a patient who had a traumatic brain injury that is having difficulty with remembering tasks.

Physical Therapy is more than just treating an injury; it is building a collaborative relationship throughout the healing process. In order to improve the way someone moves I believe it involves an empathetic attitude, active listening, meaningful patient education, and skilled treatment.

I like the complete challenge of getting someone physically and mentally back to their best. I have a passion to work with the individual to increase their quality of life."

As a clinician licensed as both a Physical Therapist (PT) and Occupational Therapist (OT), Avery remains uniquely qualified to treat a wide variety of patient injuries and diagnosis’. Avery was determined to work in the medical field because she loved working with people and helping them achieve their goals. She was first introduced to PT through her family who needed help with various shoulder and knee surgeries. It was not until she was volunteering at the V.A. Hospital in Long Beach which she was first introduced to Occupational Therapy (OT). She felt that OT encouraged her creative side and had a psychosocial factor which further increased her passion to work with individuals to help them return to meaningful activities.

Avery is an avid sports enthusiast who grew up playing basketball, tennis, and soccer. Avery attended California State University, Long Beach to earn her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Psychology and Leadership. When she heard about the unique Dual Degree Program at University of St. Augustine in San Diego that combined a Doctor of Physical (DPT) and a Master’s of Occupational Therapy (MOT) she knew it was right for her.

During graduate school Avery suffered a hand injury and needed to see an OT. It was then that she knew she wanted to be a hand therapist. She understood the difficulty and frustration with doing everyday tasks like washing her hair or with dressing. She knew that this insight could allow her to relate and help others in their recovery. While Avery was in her last year at graduate school she decided she wanted to take her manual skills to the next level and take the Manual Therapy Track. This was in line with her aspirations of becoming a hands-on therapist who could add techniques to her tool box and better treat her clients.

Avery has had over a year of clinical work within both PT and OT disciplines including: The Eisenhower Medical Center, a private hand therapy practice, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and a private elite outpatient orthopedic practice in San Diego. At The Eisenhower Medical Center she treated a geriatric population specializing in golf and tennis injuries and neurology rehab with treatments including visual perceptual strategies, balance re-education and gait training. The hand therapy clinic allowed her to work with individuals after complicated hand surgeries, post-stroke rehab, and individuals with repetitive work related injuries. Her experience at St. Joseph’s involved acute rehab specializing in neurology and orthopedic injuries. While the elite outpatient clinic in San Diego, which specialized in sports/neurology/orthopedics injuries and diseases, allowed her to work with a mixed clientele including D1 athletes and tennis/football/volleyball pros while utilizing Applied Functional Science (AFS) techniques.

Avery is excited to join the HBPTS team because of our high quality patient care. She is a native of Huntington Beach, and a former lifeguard and feels grounded and motivated to be back. She strives to make each patient feel less pain and to have a better understanding of their injury or disease before they leave. Avery has a thirst for knowledge and likes to attend continuing education workshops. One of Avery’s goals is to become a board Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). Also, she wants to run the HB Marathon this year.

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