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UHS
New Orleans, Louisiana

Art/Recreation/Dance/Drama Therapist- PRN

CounselorPer Diem

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

Schedule not stated in this posting — no days, weekends, call or nights given.

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1 day ago · Verified live

Job Description

Responsibilities

River Oaks Hospital, affiliated with Universal Health Services, is located in metropolitan New Orleans, Louisiana, is a private psychiatric facility for adults, adolescents and children.

Since 1970, River Oaks has established a tradition of excellence in the treatment of acute psychiatric illness, dual diagnosis, alcohol and drug detoxification, trauma based disorders, compulsive behaviors, and eating disorders, River Oaks has provided quality treatment to service individuals suffering from mental illness, and/or addictive disorders.

Situated on a 14-acre campus, services are available at all levels of care (inpatient, day or partial hospitalization, outpatient, and intensive outpatient).

For more information about our hospital, please visit: riveroakshospital.com

River Oaks Hospital is seeking a dynamic and talented ACTIVITY THERAPIST (PRN) plans, organizes, and administers an integrated Activities Therapy function for the patients of River Oaks Hospital under the direction of the Director of Activity Therapy; Provides activities and service for all patient population within the assigned groups and area of specific expertise. Provides support to the Director of Activity Therapy to facilitate all aspects of Activity Therapy, or other duties as assigned

Job Duties may include but are not limited to:

Assesses patient’s leisure, social, and recreational abilities, deficiencies, interests, barriers, life experiences, needs, and potential

Conducts group psychotherapy and psychoeducational sessions as needed; demonstrate a high level of clinical skill to address the needs of the patients. Demonstrates a high level of knowledge in the application of various therapeutic concepts, methods and interventions related to trauma and compulsive behaviors, addiction, and behavioral modification.

Plans and assesses patient's progress treatment and discharge needs through attendance at staffing updates

Contributes to interdisciplinary treatment plan

Benefits Highlights

  • Challenging and rewarding work environment
  • Competitive Compensation & Generous Paid Time Off
  • Excellent Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
  • 401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan

SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Program

  • Career development opportunities within UHS and its 300+ Subsidiaries!
  • More information is available on our Benefits Guest Website: benefits.uhsguest.com

Qualifications

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Psychology or Human Services field required, with specialized skills development (i. e. recreation, art, music, dance, etc)

Minimun of 2 years of Activity Therapy experience with a psychiatric mental health population required, preferably in an inpatient setting.

Certification or registration in area of expertise from applicable certification board. (Ex: Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB), Certified Board of Music Therapists (CBMT), American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), National Council for Theraeutic Recreation Certifications (NCTRC).

Knowledge of hospital activity therapy functions, leadership skills, crisis intervention and risk assessment, psychiatric diagnoses symptomology, basic chemical dependency, age specific growth and development and crisis and behavior management. Knowledge and skill in provision of services to varied populations including adulta and dually diagnosed patients in an inpatient hospital setting.

About Universal Health Services

One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance.

Growing steadily since its inception into an esteemed Fortune 500® corporation, annual revenues during 2025 were $17.4 billion. In 2026, UHS was again recognized as one of Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies™ and in 2025, was listed in Forbes ranking of America’s Largest Public Companies.

Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately 101,500 employees and continues to grow through its subsidiaries. Operating acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities, outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 40 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. For additional information visit uhs.com.

From Fortune, ©2025, 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.

EEO Statement

All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Avoid and Report Recruitment Scams

We are aware of a scam whereby imposters are posing as Recruiters from UHS, and our subsidiary hospitals and facilities. Beware of anyone requesting financial or personal information.

At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skill set and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries.

During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (e. g., Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. Our recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.

If you suspect a fraudulent job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, we encourage you to report such concerns to appropriate law enforcement. We encourage you to refer to legitimate UHS and UHS subsidiary career websites to verify job opportunities and not rely on unsolicited calls from recruiters.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Trauma-informed CareAddiction TreatmentBehavior ModificationPsychiatric DiagnosisTreatment PlanningPatient AssessmentRecreational TherapyClinical DocumentationInterdisciplinary Collaboration

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 54% are remote, 26% have no call, 72% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Louisiana is 88.2 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 60.8% of Louisiana clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top contract/1099 Counselor Jobs

34 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution24 jobs · 22 employers

7
<$75k
3
$75k-95k
7
$95k-115k
7
$115k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks24 jobs · 22 employers

401k / retirement match
92% this job
Sign-on bonus
46%
CME allowance
33%
Loan repayment
17% this job
PSLF eligible
8%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

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Work-life snapshot

median 6.1this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 7,961 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in New Orleans

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$209k
Typical market rent
$1,637/mo
Residents’ average commute
23 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
92.6
State income tax
Up to 4.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

UHS logo

About UHS

Hospitals and Health Care
Aiken, South Carolina
501-1,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Competitive Compensation
Generous Paid Time Off
Medical, Dental, Vision and Prescription Drug Plans
401(K) with company match and discounted stock plan
SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Program
Career development opportunities