Job Description

Job Description and Duties

METROPOLITAN STATE HOSPITAL- Located in Norwalk, Los Angeles County

*This position is expected to receive a salary range increase on July 1, 2025. CalHR Pay Scales have not yet reflected this change*

This advertisement is posted until filled and is for multiple vacancies. Applications will be reviewed on the 1st and 15th of each month, and selections can be made. However, the Job Control will remain open until the vacancy is filled.

Under the clinical and the administrative direction the Program Director Chief of Rehabilitation Therapy Services, the Rehabilitation Therapist assists in facilitating and ensuring that quality Rehabilitation Therapy services, treatment and care are delivered to patients in a safe environment. The Rehabilitation Therapist will maintain responsible stewardship and excellence in forensic evaluation and treatment. The Rehabilitation Therapist is required to have knowledge of mental health principles; the ability to speak and write grammatically; good interpersonal skills, time management skills, organizational skills, and computer skills; and ensure that the provision of Rehabilitation Therapy services is directed toward restoring and maintaining optimal levels of physical and psychosocial functioning throughout the patient’s continuum of care. While all Rehabilitation Therapists will be involved in a wide range of habilitative and rehabilitative services, assignments will, to the greatest extent possible, be to positions requiring training and experience in a specific discipline such as:

*ART -  Uses the art process and product as reflections of an individual’s development, abilities, personality, impairments, concerns and potential. Provides a range of services, including assessment and treatment that support increases in functioning, resiliency, adaptive capabilities, coping skills, social skills, leisure skills and quality of life.
*DANCE –Uses body movement and dance as the process in therapeutic intervention specifically directed toward gaining insight into problematic behavior and toward expanding and individual’s freedom of movement, flexibility, and coordination provides opportunity for expression and communication of feelings, needs, and conflicts; and facilitates positive change in body image.
*MUSIC –Uses music interventions to provide a nonthreatening, self-motivating experience to assist and individual in relating to the immediate environment the self, and the community; and provides atmosphere compatible to behavior change self-expression and nonverbal and verbal communication.
*RECREATION –  Uses self-motivating, recreational activities to improve functioning and independence as well as to reduce or alleviate mental health symptoms, and to restore, remediate, or rehabilitate motor skills, social skills, life skills, coping skills, sensory function; and provides recreation and leisure counseling to enable the patient to appropriately manage his/her leisure and daily lifestyle.
* OCCUPATIONAL- Persons in this series of specialty classes apply therapeutic habilitation/rehabilitation knowledge, skill enhancement activities, and techniques to the  problems of developmental, mental, or physical disordered offenders.

IF YOU DO  NOT HAVE ELIGIBILITY, YOU MUST TAKE THE EXAM . The examination is a separate process from applying for this vacancy. Please carefully read and follow the instructions for each process. 

* DANCE :  RECREATION: ART:  CalCareers * MUSIC: CalCareers *OCCUPATIONAL: CalCareers

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

Face Coverings: While working on-site, employees must follow current face covering guidance as issued by CDPH.

Special Requirements

• The position(s) require(s) a Drug Screening be passed prior to being hired.
• The position(s) require(s) a Background Investigation be cleared prior to being hired.
• The position(s) require(s) Medical Clearance prior to being hired.

Candidates must be willing to work in any Unit/Program and any Shift to meet the needs of the facility.

Unless there is a specific request to be notified via USPS mail, our main contact will be via email. Email correspondence regarding this job posting will primarily come from  MSH.Recruitment@dsh.ca.gov.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to check their email inbox, including junk/spam emails for any correspondence regarding their application status. In addition, applicants are encouraged to keep their CalCareers profile updated with a current telephone number, mailing address, and email.

Employees applying for this position who wish to be considered on a transfer basis must meet the minimum qualifications and all transfer rules. You may also be required to provide additional documents, such as copies of your college transcripts during the screening process when applicable. Please provide proof of the highest paying class you were permanently appointed to from an eligible list.

All Examination and/or Employment Application forms must include: “to” and “from” dates (month/day/year); time base; and civil service class titles. Examination and/or Employment Application forms received without this information will be rejected. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed Examination and/or Employment Application (STD. 678) form.

Note : If you are applying for multiple positions, you must complete a STD 678 for each position separately.  Incomplete applications or applications received with multiple positions listed on one application will not be considered .

EMAILED OR FAXED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

Applicants are responsible for obtaining proof of mailing or submission of their applications to MSH-Human Resources Department, Selection Services Unit.  Confirmation/receipt of USPS mailed submittals can only be provided for by Certified Mail.

Benefits

Working for the State offers great opportunities, generous benefits, and career development. Benefits information may be obtained by going to

In addition, you can look forward to:

*Free parking

*Free onsite gym

*Free onsite electric vehicle chargers

*Rideshare Resources

*Convenient to public transportation

*Located near major freeway access

*Multiple eateries within walking distance

Benefit information can be found on the  CalHR website and the  CalPERS website.

Requirements for: Art Therapist-SF (Safety), Dance Therapist, SF (Safety) ,Music Therapist, SF (Safety)

All disciplines: Art Therapy, Dance Therapy, Music Therapy,
Occupational Therapy and Recreation Therapy (Safety) must meet the criteria in accordance with the Business and Professional Code, and California Code Regulations, and corresponding boards. 

The Art Therapist, SF (Safety) is required to meet the criteria below, in accordance with Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 22, § 72011 and Art Therapy Credentials Board

(1) Art therapist means a person who has a master's degree in art therapy or in art education or psychology with major course work in art, art therapy, including an approved clinical internship in art therapy from an accredited college or university, and a person who is registered or eligible for registration as such with the American Art Therapy Association.

(2) If you graduated from an AATA-approved education program, you automatically meet the education requirements for the ATR.

(3) If your education program was not AATA-approved, you must have received your degree and completed all relevant coursework through a nationally or regionally accredited program. In addition to transcripts, you will need to provide course descriptions and/or course syllabi to demonstrate that you have met the studio art, mental health, and art therapy core content requirements as described in the ATR application.

The Dance Therapist, SF (Safety) is required to meet the criteria below, in accordance with Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 22, § 76033 

(1) "Dance Therapist" means a person who has a master's degree in dance 

therapy, including an approved clinical internship from an accredited college or university, or a person who is registered or eligible for registration as such with the American Dance Therapy Association.

The Music Therapist, SF (Safety) is required to meet the criteria below, in accordance with Business and Professions Code, DIVISION 2. HEALING ARTS [500 - 4999.129], CHAPTER 10.7. Music Therapy [4650 - 4657].

(1) Existing national certification of music therapists requires the therapist to have

graduated with a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, or higher, from a music therapy degree program approved by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA), successful completion of a minimum of 1,200 hours of supervised clinical work through preinternship training at an approved degree program, and internship training through approved national roster or university affiliated internship programs, or an equivalent.

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is optional. It may be included, but is not required.

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Full time, Internship, Immediate start, Shift work,

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