| Location | San Mateo, CA |
| Salary | $88,379.20–$110,510.40 Per Year |
Creative Arts Therapist - San Mateo Medical Center (Open & Promotional)
Salary
$88,379.20 - $110,510.40 Annually
Location
County of San Mateo, CA
Job Type
Regular
Job Number
F029U
Department
San Mateo Medical Center
Opening Date
08/13/2026
Closing Date
8/27/2026 11:59 PM Pacific
Bargaining Unit
01A
Description
San Mateo County 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.
The current vacancy is a regular/full-time position.
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.
NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.
Examples Of Duties
Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Qualifications
Knowledge of:
Skill/Ability to:
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
Open & Promotional. Anyone may apply. Current County of San Mateo and County of San Mateo Superior Court of California employees with at least six months (1040 hours) of continuous service in a classified regular, probationary, extra-help/limited term positions prior to the final filing date will receive five points added to their final passing score on this examination.
The examination process will consist of an application screening (weight: pass/fail) based on the candidates application and responses to the supplemental questions. Candidates who pass the application screening will be invited to a panel interview (weight: 100%). Depending on the number of applicants, an application appraisal of education and experience may be used in place of other examinations or further evaluation of work experience may be conducted to group applicants by level of qualification. All applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through any subsequent phase of the examination. All examinations will be given in San Mateo County, California and applicants must participate at their own expense.
IMPORTANT: Applications for this position will only be accepted online. If you are currently on the Countys website, you may click the "Apply" button. If you are not on the Countys website, please go to http://jobs.smcgov.org/ to apply. Responses to the supplemental questions must be submitted in addition to our regular employment application form. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for the required employment application and supplemental questionnaire. Online applications must be received by the Human Resources Department before midnight on the final filing date.
TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE
Final Filing Date: Thursday, August 27, 2026, by 11:59PM PST
Application Screening: Monday, August 31, 2026
Combined Panel/Departmental Interviews: Week of September 7, 2026
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.
We invite you to explore our Benefits-at-a-Glance page for a snapshot of the comprehensive and competitive benefits available to eligible employees of the County of San Mateo. From health and wellness to financial security, our benefits are designed to support you at every stage of your career. (Please note that benefits are subject to change.)
In addition to core benefits, the County is proud to offer a variety of wellness and professional development programs to help you grow both personally and professionally. Most of these enriching opportunities are available during work hours and come at no cost to you.
As a County employee, you'll also be covered by the federal Social Security system, earning valuable retirement benefits based on your salary and years of service.
01
IMPORTANT: Applicants for this position are required to submit responses to the following supplemental questions. Your responses will give us additional information about your background and experience related to this position and will be used in the selection process. Be concise and specific. Neatness, clarity of expression, grammar, spelling and ability to follow instructions will be considered in the evaluation process. A resume will not be accepted as a substitute for your responses to these questions.
02
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. Which of the following certifications do you possess? (Check all that apply. Please include information on the Certificates & Licenses section of the application.)
03
Please indicate your current status (select all that apply) and include any CTRS or equivalent credentials:
04
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.
05
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.
06
How did you learn about this position?
07
If you answered, "Professional Publication/Website" or "Other" to the above question, please indicate below how you learned about this position. Your response to this question will help us in better marketing County jobs. Type NA if not applicable.
Required Question
Employer County of San Mateo
Address County of San Mateo Human Resources Department
500 County Center, 4th Floor
Redwood City, California, 94063-1663
Phone (650) 363-4343
Website https://jobs.smcgov.org