Creative Arts Therapist - San Mateo Medical Center - Extra Help (Open)

Job Description:

Creative Arts Therapist - San Mateo Medical Center - Extra Help (Open)

Description

Description

San Mateo Counth Health is seeking a qualified and compassionate Creative Arts and Recreation Therapist to develop, coordinate, and deliver evidence-based creative arts therapy services for patients across a variety of healthcare settings. This position provides therapeutic interventions that support patients' emotional, cognitive, physical, and social well-being through music and other creative arts modalities as part of an interdisciplinary treatment team.

The Creative Arts and Recreation Therapist will assess patient needs, develop individualized treatment plans, facilitate therapeutic group and individual sessions, and contribute to comprehensive patient care. This role serves diverse patient populations ranging from acute care, behavioral health, long-term care, and specialty treatment settings including inpatient and outpatient.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of two years of experience providing music therapy, creative arts therapy, or recreation therapy services to individuals across the lifespan in healthcare or therapeutic settings. They will demonstrate the ability to assess patients' physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral needs and to develop, implement, and evaluate individualized therapeutic treatment plans. Experience working across a range of environments, including acute care, behavioral health, psychiatric care, intensive care, and long-term care settings, is highly desirable.

The successful candidate will be skilled in facilitating both individual and group therapeutic interventions and will possess strong clinical judgment, assessment, documentation, communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills. Experience working with individuals with dementia, cognitive impairments, or behavioral health challenges is strongly preferred.

Candidates must be eligible for certification, registration, or membership with a recognized professional association in Music Therapy, Creative Arts Therapy, or Recreation Therapy. A master's degree in Music Therapy, Creative Arts Therapy, Recreation Therapy, or a closely related field is preferred. Certification as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and other advanced specialty certifications are considered highly desirable.

Preference will be given to candidates available to work weekday shifts, with flexibility to work occasional weekends and holidays as needed. This position is eligible for applicable shift differential pay.

NOTE: This is an extra-help, at-will assignment, paid on an hourly basis. Extra-help hours are dependent on the business needs of the department and therefore work hours may vary from week to week. Extra help employees shall not exceed 1,040 hours of work per fiscal year. Some extra help positions are eligible for benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Extra help employees are not guaranteed permanent status at the end of the assignment.

Examples Of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Evaluate needs and interests of patients; define creative arts therapy goals; and plan individual therapy programs.
• Participate in multi-disciplinary meetings, case conferences and unit rounds to discuss patients' progress and coordinate creative arts therapy with other services.
• Supervise and conduct a variety of individual and group therapeutic activities.
• Lead adult therapy groups.
• Keep records and prepare reports.
• Order supplies and equipment.
• Supervise creative arts therapy interns.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Qualifications
Knowledge of:

• Principles, procedures, techniques, trends and literature of rehabilitation services.
• Special techniques of creative arts therapies, including those relating to mental disabilities.
• Scope and activities of private and public health and welfare agencies.
• Characteristics of mental, emotional and developmental disorders.
• Current trends in mental health, public health, and public welfare.
• Federal and state programs in mental health, public health, and public welfare.
• Creative arts therapy materials, tools and processes used in providing therapy services to psychiatric, physically disabled and geriatric patients.
• Physical and psychological problems of geriatric, physically disabled, psychiatric and medical patients.
• Behavioral disorders and theories of group management.

Skill/Ability to:

• Establish and maintain the confidence and cooperation of persons in therapy.
• Secure accurate clinical data and record such data systematically.
• Work with patients with communications dysfunctions.
• Write clear, accurate and concise reports.
• Interpret statistical data.
• Supervise, instruct and lead creative arts therapy activities.
• Integrate creative arts therapy activities with other medical and institutional programs.
• Work effectively with volunteers.
• Discuss patient activities and creating interest and support for them with members of the community.
• Work without close supervision.

Education and Experience:
Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to qualify is:

Option 1 Art: Eligibility for or registration with the American Art Therapy Association.
Option 2 Dance: Eligibility for or registration with the American Dance Therapy Association.

Option 3 Drama: Eligibility for or registration with the National Association for Drama Therapy.

Option 4 Music: Eligibility for or registration with the National Association of Music Therapy or equivalent professional organization.

Option 5 Recreation: Eligibility for or registration with the National Association of Therapeutic Recreation or California Therapeutic Recreation Society.

Experience (options 4 and 5): Two years of post-baccalaureate experience as a therapist.

Licensure/Certification:
Possession of a Certificate of completion for a course in Basic Life Support as approved by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association; or must be obtained within six months of appointment.

Special Requirements:
Individuals assigned to Canyon Oaks Youth Center, must have the ability to complete 40 hours of mandated training annually.

Application/Examination
This is an extra-help recruitment. Anyone may apply.

Apply immediately. This recruitment is open on a continuous basis and selections may be made at any time within the process.

If you are interested in this position, a cover letter, resume and responses to the supplemental questions must be electronically submitted. Submittals that do not include all required elements (cover letter, resume and responses to the supplemental questions) will not be considered.

Please include the words "Creative Arts Therapist - Extra Help" in the subject area of email submissions. All submitted materials should be in a Word or PDF format. Applications are not accepted online. Please submit the required materials electronically via email to:

Heather Rudolph, Clinical Services Manager - Rehabilitation
Email: [email protected]

Submit responses to these Supplemental Questions:

1. Please indicate your current status (select all that apply) and include any CTRS or equivalent credentials:

a. Registered with the American Art Therapy Association
b. Registered with the American Dance Therapy Association
c. Registered with the National Association for Drama Therapy
d. Registered with the American Music Therapy Association / Certification Board for Music Therapists (or equivalent), with at least two (2) years of post-baccalaureate therapy experience. Include any additional relevant certifications (e.g., CTRS).

1. Please describe your experience utilizing electronic health record (EHR) systems, including EPIC, with emphasis on high-volume clinical documentation and adherence to regulatory requirements within long-term care, skilled nursing (SNF), or other comparable healthcare settings.
2. Describe interventions you would implement for patients identified as at risk for social isolation, including therapeutic approaches and strategies to promote engagement and social connection.

NOTE: The San Mateo Medical Center will screen materials as they are received and will contact qualified candidates for an interview.

About the County

San Mateo County is centrally located between San Francisco, San Jose, and the East Bay. With over 750,000 residents, San Mateo is one of the largest and most diverse counties in California and serves a multitude of culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities.

The County of San Mateo, as an employer, is committed to advancing equity to ensure that all employees are welcomed in a safe and inclusive environment. The County seeks to hire, support, and retain employees who reflect our diverse community. We encourage applicants with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences to apply. Eighty percent of employees surveyed stated that they would recommend the County as a great place to work.

The County of San Mateo is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion at all levels.

Salary:

$88,379.20 - $110,510.40 Annually