Senior Lead of Rehabilitation Services

The Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center (The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health-DMH) is seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist III to provide clinical leadership and support recovery-focused care within its adult inpatient psychiatric units. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals with mental illness and forensic involvement by promoting functional independence, cognitive development, emotional regulation, and person-centered treatment. Working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team, the Occupational Therapist III will help shape individualized treatment approaches that support patient well-being, recovery, and successful engagement in therapeutic activities.

This position is ideal for an occupational therapy professional who enjoys mentoring others, advancing clinical excellence, and contributing to program development in a specialized mental health setting. In addition to providing direct patient care, the Occupational Therapist III will supervise and develop staff, support student education and clinical training, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and champion patient rights, safety, and restraint prevention initiatives. This is an opportunity to combine clinical expertise with leadership, influence the quality of occupational therapy services, and foster a supportive environment where both patients and staff can thrive.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Supervise, lead, and provide clinical guidance to occupational therapy staff, including performance evaluations, ongoing coaching, constructive feedback, and disciplinary counseling in accordance with departmental policies.

• Conduct functional and cognitive evaluations and occupational therapy screenings to assess patient needs and determine appropriate treatment interventions.

• Provide individual and group therapy, therapeutic activities, and sensory modulation interventions to support patient recovery, emotional regulation, and de-escalation.

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams to develop measurable, objective, and individualized treatment goals that promote effective, person-centered care.

• Coordinate and supervise therapeutic groups, document group themes and individual patient participation, and provide guidance to staff facilitating unit-based groups.

• Ensure patient confidentiality, protect patient rights, and promote a safe, respectful, and supportive therapeutic environment while leading departmental restraint prevention initiatives.

• Contribute to occupational therapy policy development, departmental management, and continuous improvement while ensuring adherence to established procedures and professional standards.

• Coordinate educational partnerships with undergraduate and graduate occupational therapy programs, serving as a liaison and providing student orientation, clinical supervision, and training.

• Support staff development and organizational learning by assisting with employee orientation, coordinating inpatient volunteers, and collaborating with internal and external educational partners.

• Maintain professional competency and current knowledge of clinical practices, departmental policies, and regulatory updates while fostering effective communication and collaboration with patients, families, visitors, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals.

Required Qualifications:

• Knowledge of occupational therapy theory, principles, practices, terminology, treatment methods, techniques, procedures, equipment, and materials.

• Understanding of diagnostic and prognostic testing methods, factors, trends, and challenges in occupational therapy, and the social, psychological, and educational needs of individuals with physical disabilities.

• Understanding of supervision principles and practices, training methods, instructional techniques, and employee performance evaluation methods.

• Ability to plan, coordinate, assign, and supervise work activities, and plan and conduct occupational therapy training and instruction.

• Capacity to conduct interviews, observe individuals, gather and analyze occupational therapy data, determine its applicability, draw conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations.

• Ability to interpret and apply policies, procedures, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing assigned activities.

• Power to communicate effectively, provide clear and precise oral and written instructions, prepare reports, and maintain accurate records.

• Ability to motivate clients, establish rapport, interact effectively with individuals experiencing physical or emotional stress, and maintain harmonious working relationships.

• Capacity to exercise sound judgment, remain calm in stressful and emergency situations, and follow oral and written instructions.

• Knowledge of general report-writing methods and the ability to prepare accurate, clear, and comprehensive reports.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines governing occupational therapy services.

• Knowledge of agency forms, documentation requirements, and recordkeeping procedures.

• Knowledge of public and private organizations, community resources, and service providers offering occupational therapy and related services.

• Understanding of occupational therapy program administration, service delivery standards, and operational procedures.

• Knowledge of applicable professional standards, ethical principles, and best practices in occupational therapy.

• Knowledge of assessment tools, therapeutic equipment, assistive devices, and adaptive technologies used in occupational therapy.

• Knowledge of client care planning, treatment documentation, progress monitoring, and outcome evaluation.

• Capacity to coordinate occupational therapy services with healthcare professionals, community agencies, and interdisciplinary teams.

• Ability to identify appropriate referral sources, funding opportunities, and community resources to support client treatment and rehabilitation.

• Power to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements, confidentiality standards, documentation protocols, and agency reporting procedures.

DMH Mission and Vision:

The Department of Mental Health assures and provides access to services and supports to meet the mental health needs of individuals of all ages, enabling them to live, work and participate in their communities. The Department establishes standards to ensure effective and culturally competent care to promote recovery. The Department sets policy, promotes self-determination, protects human rights, and supports mental health training and research.

Pre-Offer Process:

A criminal background check will be completed on the recommended candidate as required by the regulations set forth by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services prior to the candidate being hired. For more information, please visit http://www.mass.gov/hhs/cori

Education, licensure and certifications will be verified in accordance with the Human Resources Division’s Hiring Guidelines.

Education and license/certification information provided by the selected candidate(s) is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law and may be published on the Commonwealth’s website.

ADA Reasonable Accommodation:

If you require a reasonable accommodation with the application/interview process, please contact us at: EOHHS Candidate ADA Requests

For questions regarding this requisition, please contact the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Human Resources at 1-800-510-4122 Ext. 4.

The Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center (The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health-DMH) is seeking an experienced Occupational Therapist III to provide clinical leadership and support recovery-focused care within its adult inpatient psychiatric units. This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of individuals with mental illness and forensic involvement by promoting functional independence, cognitive development, emotional regulation, and person-centered treatment. Working collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team, the Occupational Therapist III will help shape individualized treatment approaches that support patient well-being, recovery, and successful engagement in therapeutic activities.

This position is ideal for an occupational therapy professional who enjoys mentoring others, advancing clinical excellence, and contributing to program development in a specialized mental health setting. In addition to providing direct patient care, the Occupational Therapist III will supervise and develop staff, support student education and clinical training, strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, and champion patient rights, safety, and restraint prevention initiatives. This is an opportunity to combine clinical expertise with leadership, influence the quality of occupational therapy services, and foster a supportive environment where both patients and staff can thrive.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Supervise, lead, and provide clinical guidance to occupational therapy staff, including performance evaluations, ongoing coaching, constructive feedback, and disciplinary counseling in accordance with departmental policies.

• Conduct functional and cognitive evaluations and occupational therapy screenings to assess patient needs and determine appropriate treatment interventions.

• Provide individual and group therapy, therapeutic activities, and sensory modulation interventions to support patient recovery, emotional regulation, and de-escalation.

• Collaborate with interdisciplinary treatment teams to develop measurable, objective, and individualized treatment goals that promote effective, person-centered care.

• Coordinate and supervise therapeutic groups, document group themes and individual patient participation, and provide guidance to staff facilitating unit-based groups.

• Ensure patient confidentiality, protect patient rights, and promote a safe, respectful, and supportive therapeutic environment while leading departmental restraint prevention initiatives.

• Contribute to occupational therapy policy development, departmental management, and continuous improvement while ensuring adherence to established procedures and professional standards.

• Coordinate educational partnerships with undergraduate and graduate occupational therapy programs, serving as a liaison and providing student orientation, clinical supervision, and training.

• Support staff development and organizational learning by assisting with employee orientation, coordinating inpatient volunteers, and collaborating with internal and external educational partners.

• Maintain professional competency and current knowledge of clinical practices, departmental policies, and regulatory updates while fostering effective communication and collaboration with patients, families, visitors, colleagues, and other healthcare professionals.

Required Qualifications:

• Knowledge of occupational therapy theory, principles, practices, terminology, treatment methods, techniques, procedures, equipment, and materials.

• Understanding of diagnostic and prognostic testing methods, factors, trends, and challenges in occupational therapy, and the social, psychological, and educational needs of individuals with physical disabilities.

• Understanding of supervision principles and practices, training methods, instructional techniques, and employee performance evaluation methods.

• Ability to plan, coordinate, assign, and supervise work activities, and plan and conduct occupational therapy training and instruction.

• Capacity to conduct interviews, observe individuals, gather and analyze occupational therapy data, determine its applicability, draw conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations.

• Ability to interpret and apply policies, procedures, specifications, standards, and guidelines governing assigned activities.

• Power to communicate effectively, provide clear and precise oral and written instructions, prepare reports, and maintain accurate records.

• Ability to motivate clients, establish rapport, interact effectively with individuals experiencing physical or emotional stress, and maintain harmonious working relationships.

• Capacity to exercise sound judgment, remain calm in stressful and emergency situations, and follow oral and written instructions.

• Knowledge of general report-writing methods and the ability to prepare accurate, clear, and comprehensive reports.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines governing occupational therapy services.

• Knowledge of agency forms, documentation requirements, and recordkeeping procedures.

• Knowledge of public and private organizations, community resources, and service providers offering occupational therapy and related services.

• Understanding of occupational therapy program administration, service delivery standards, and operational procedures.