Job Summary

Under the direct supervision unit supervisor, the Art Therapist provides trauma-informed, clinically grounded art therapy services to individuals experiencing acute psychiatric or emotional crises in a residential treatment setting. As part of an interdisciplinary clinical team, the Art Therapist uses creative processes to support emotional regulation, self-expression, stabilization, and recovery. The role emphasizes safety, short-term crisis intervention, and therapeutic engagement for residents with complex mental health needs.

Essential Functions

Facilitate individual and group art therapy sessions using diverse media to support emotional expression, regulation, and recovery.
Establish treatment goals and select appropriate art therapy modalities to meet individual needs.
Assess patient engagement and progress, documenting observations and outcomes in accordance with clinical policies.
Collaborate with the treatment team to develop and update treatment plans, sharing insights from therapy sessions.
Use creative interventions to safely explore and manage emotional responses, foster self-awareness and healing.
Apply clinical skills through patient interviews, behavioral observation, and therapeutic engagement.
Maintain a safe, inclusive, and trauma-informed environment for creative expression.
Adapt schedules and approaches to meet the needs of the unit and hospital programs.
Other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements and Qualifications

Education:

Master's degree in art therapy or art therapy counseling from an accredited institution
OR
Master's degree in Counseling, Social Work, or Marriage and Family Therapy with Registered Art Therapist (ATR) credentials

Training Requirements (licenses, programs, or certificates):

Eligibility for, or current credentialing as, a Registered Art Therapist (ATR); Board Certification (ATR-BC) preferred.

Minimum licensure requirements: Limited license (LLPC, LLMSW, LLMFT)

Experience Requirements:

Prior experience in behavioral health setting.

Job Specific Competencies/Skills:

Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Excellent organizational and time-management skills
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to remain calm and focused under pressure
Empathy and strong ethical standards

Knowledge Requirements:

HIPPA
Microsoft 365
Recipient Right’s
Mental Health Code
Medicaid Manual
Regulatory compliance

Oakland Community Health Network’s Core Competencies:

Interacting with others in a way that gives them confidence in one’s intentions and those of the organization; demonstrating loyalty to the organization and its mission and values; maintaining social, ethical, and organizational norms; firmly adhering to codes of conduct and ethical principles. (Integrity/Building Trust)
Making customers and their needs a primary focus of one’s actions; developing and sustaining productive customer relationships, recognizing that the ultimate customer is the person served. (Customer Focus)

Actively identifying new areas for learning; regularly creating and taking advantage of learning opportunities; using newly gained knowledge and skill on the job and learning through their application. (Continuous Learning)
Setting high standards of performance for self and others; assuming responsibility and accountability for successfully completing assignments or tasks; self-imposing standards of excellence in addition to consciously adopting organizational standards of excellence. (Work Standards)
Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the message. (Communication)

Additional Information

(Travel required, physical requirements, on-call schedules, etc.):

Must have available means of transportation to and from OCHN and for required offsite meetings or site visits.
Must be available for meetings and events which may occur outside of standard office hours.
Work performed primarily in an office environment.
The ideal candidate must be able to complete all physical requirements of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.

OCHN is committed to building a diverse team and fostering an inclusive and equitable culture. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer that embraces and encourages our employees’ differences. This includes (but is not limited to) ability, age, color, family type, gender expression and identity, individual expression, medical conditions, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, and all other diverse and wonderful characteristics.