Creative Arts Therapist

Summary

The Creative Arts Therapist (Art) at the VA San Diego Health Care System (VASDHCS) is aligned under Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service providing rehabilitation for Veterans with complex conditions including amputation, paralysis, neurological and orthopedic disorders, behavioral health/ psychiatric diagnoses, dementia, TBI, respiratory disorders, chronic cardiovascular disease, and multi-morbid presentations. This announcement may be used to fill future vacancies.

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Duties

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Major duties to include but not limited to:

• Conducts formal, standardized assessments of needs, aptitudes, interests, and abilities; includes cognitive, psychosocial, sensory-motor, and functional domains relevant to outpatient mental health and rehabilitation.
• Develops and implements evidence-informed Art Therapy plans specifying scope, duration, and frequency; aligns goals with outpatient rehab plans and mental health treatment objectives.
• Applies specialty Art Therapy modalities to address sensory integration; neuromuscular and motor-cognitive integration; cognitive components; psychosocial skills; and psychological symptoms (trauma, depression, anxiety, grief, behavioral activation).
• Exercises high-level independent clinical decision-making; designs, develops, or adapts unique Art Therapy interventions; collaborates in co-treatment for complex presentations.
• Partners with Psychiatry, CLC, Psychology, PM&R/PMRS, Nursing, Social Work, OT/PT/SLP to integrate Art Therapy into treatment plans, rounds, and care transitions.
• Completes timely, accurate documentation (assessments, progress notes, encounters, consults, care plans, discharge summaries); ensures appropriate coding/workload capture (VERA/productivity).
• Maintains professional boundaries; provides a safe, trauma-informed environment for symbolic expression, processing, and skill acquisition; supports safety planning and crisis response as indicated.
• Incorporates knowledge of the roles and meaning of art across cultures; co-develops relevant interventions and programming;
• Serves as a subject matter expert; provides consultation, in-service education, mentorship; contributes to quality improvement and program evaluation.
• Identifies community resources for discharge planning; ensures coordinated handoffs to outpatient MH RT/CAT and rehabilitation services.
• Engages when mental health symptoms impede participation or progress toward physical rehab goals, or when symptom regulation/safety is required to enable rehabilitation (e.g., PTSD symptoms affecting engagement, severe anxiety limiting therapy tolerance, depressive symptoms diminishing activation).
• Performs focused inpatient mental health Art Therapy evaluations and delivers targeted interventions (e.g., grounding, regulation, trauma-informed approaches, behavioral activation) that directly support rehab milestones and safe participation.
• Initiates coordinated care with the Experiential & Recreation Therapy team; collaborates with PM&R/PMRS, Psychiatry, Psychology, Nursing, Social Work, OT/PT/SLP to integrate Art Therapy into the inpatient rehabilitation plan of care and discharge planning.
• Ensures continuity by communicating treatment goals, progress, and recommendations to outpatient teams; supports transitions back to outpatient services to sustain gains
• Covers Outpatient mental health Creative Arts Therapy clinics and consults; Inpatient consultative involvement as clinically indicated to achieve physical rehab goals; cross-coverage for outpatient/inpatient needs during leave or program transitions.
• Serves as backup Government Purchase Card (GPC) holder, completing required training and adhering to VA/facility policies, internal controls, documentation, reconciliation, and audit requirements for micro-purchases and approved transactions.

Perform other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule : Monday - Friday 7:30 AM-4:00 PM or 8:00 AM-4:30 PM; Tour may vary based on agency needs.

Compressed/Flexible : Not Available.

Telework : Not Available.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement # : 000000

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives : Not Authorized.

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements :

• United States Citizenship : Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education:
  • Master's degree or higher, from an accredited college or university, with a major in art therapy approved by the American Art Therapy Association on or before June 30, 2016. If the degree is received after June 30, 2016, a master's degree or higher from an accredited college or university, with a major in art therapy, must be accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Art Therapy Education: a committee of the Commission on Accreditation on Allied Health Education Program; OR
  • Master's degree in a related field, plus graduate coursework and supervised field experience in art therapy. Acceptable related fields include: Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Social Work, Psychology, Addictions Counseling, Psychiatric Nursing, and Psychiatry, AND must possess a full, current, and unrestricted registration as a Registered Art Therapist (ATR) approved by the Art Therapy Credentials Board. If hired under this education, the registration cannot be waived.
• Certification:
  • Certification in a specialty treatment area in art therapy such as, but not limited to: Trauma Informed Art Therapy, Focused-Oriented Art Therapy, Photo Therapy, Mandala Assessment Research Instrument (MARI®), Art Therapy Analytics, or in a directly related field such as dementia, motivational interviewing, and/or cognitive behavior therapy.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations :

GS-12 Creative Arts Therapist (Art): In addition to meeting the basic requirements, the completion of two years of progressively complex experience, which includes one year equivalent at the next lower grade GS-11 directly related to the position being filled, is required.

-AND-

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Skill in differentiating signs, symptoms, and contraindications as related to clinical diagnoses in order to independently determine appropriate interventions.
2. Ability to apply advanced clinical judgment and critical thinking when interpreting and documenting interactions related to complex medical conditions.
3. Ability to design comprehensive and complex screening tools and templates.
4. Ability as a skilled listener sensitive to a variety of human needs.
5. Ability to exhibit emotional stability, patience, and interpersonal skills.
6. Knowledge of insight and psychological processes.
7. Skill in using a higher degree of sensitivity of group dynamics, interpersonal interactions, and symptoms with special attention to complexity, comorbidity and contraindications.
8. Knowledge of a variety of art mediums through continuing education for application in clinical settings.
9. Knowledge of how therapy impacts revenue resource allocation as it relates to complex diagnosis, treatment, and diagnostic coding.

Preferred Experience: Greater than 2 years progressively complex experience as Creative Arts Therapist with preference that experience hospital based Recreation/Creative Art Therapy Program.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.