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Prava Therapy
Poway, California

Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant

Occupational TherapistPart-Time

Listed compensation

$33-$39/hr

The week · per this posting

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

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago · Verified live

Job Description

Part-Time COTA | Memory Care | Come Practice OT Where Life Happens

Memory Care | Part-Time

  • The best OT session might not look like a therapy session.
  • It might look like getting dressed for dinner.
  • Finding the dining room.
  • Brushing your teeth.
  • Participating in an activity.
  • Navigating a familiar routine.
  • Helping someone successfully complete something they've done their entire life.
  • That's where OT belongs.

At Prava, we're looking for a Part-Time Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant who wants to bring meaningful, occupation-based therapy into Memory Care communities.

And we're looking for someone who understands that when you're working with someone living with dementia, the environment, the routine, and the way we approach the person can matter just as much as the intervention itself.

  • We don't just work bankers' hours.
  • Because residents don't live bankers' hours.
  • For this position, we're particularly interested in a COTA who sees the value of evening ADL intervention.

Why?

  • Because that's when real life happens.
  • Getting ready for dinner.
  • Dressing.
  • Grooming.
  • Toileting.
  • Positioning.
  • Transitioning into the evening.
  • Preparing for bed.
  • These aren't just tasks.
  • They're occupations.
  • And they can be incredibly meaningful therapy opportunities.
  • We don't expect the resident to fit the therapy.
  • We adapt the therapy to the resident.
  • Someone with dementia may not be able to tell you what is making a task difficult.
  • That doesn't mean there isn't a reason.
  • Maybe the environment is overwhelming.
  • Maybe the routine has changed.
  • Maybe the instructions are too complicated.
  • Maybe the task needs to be broken down differently.
  • Maybe the resident needs a familiar cue.
  • Maybe we need to change our approach, not ask the resident to try harder.
  • That's where great OT comes in.

Your Role

You'll work alongside our OT team to provide meaningful, occupation-based care to residents living with dementia.

You'll Have Opportunities To

Provide ADL and IADL intervention within the plan of care

Incorporate Therapy Into Real Evening Routines

  • Support dressing, grooming, toileting, positioning, mobility-related ADLs, and other meaningful occupations within your scope
  • Use cueing, sequencing, environmental modification, and compensatory strategies to support participation
  • Identify environmental barriers to successful engagement
  • Support residents in maintaining familiar routines and meaningful roles
  • Partner with caregivers and community staff to improve carryover
  • Help preserve independence and dignity—even when independence looks different than it used to
  • Build relationships with residents and learn the person behind the diagnosis
  • We believe dementia care should start with the person.
  • Not the diagnosis.
  • Not the behavior.
  • Not the impairment.
  • The person.

What Did They Love to Do?

What routines are familiar?

What Makes Them Feel Successful?

  • What helps them feel safe?
  • What can we change about the environment?
  • How can we make participation possible?
  • Those questions matter.

We're Looking for a COTA Who

  • Loves working with older adults living with dementia
  • Believes occupation is at the center of OT
  • Understands the importance of routine, environment, and meaningful engagement
  • Gets excited about real-world ADL training
  • Is patient, creative, observant, and adaptable
  • Builds relationships naturally
  • Believes dignity should never be sacrificed for efficiency
  • Wants to practice creatively and clinically
  • Doesn't believe every therapy session needs to happen in a therapy room
  • If you've ever thought, “This is what OT is supposed to be,” you'll probably like Prava.
  • Because we don't just want to treat a resident.

We want to help the person continue to live their life—with the abilities they have today, in the environment they call home.

And sometimes the most important therapy of the day happens after 5 p. m.

  • Come practice OT where life happens.
  • Come practice Prava.

Key Responsibilities

Provide occupation-based therapy and ADL/IADL interventions for residents living with dementia in a memory care setting. Collaborate with the OT team and caregivers to adapt environments and routines to support resident independence and dignity.

Requirements

Must be a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) with a passion for working with older adults in memory care. Requires the ability to adapt therapy to individual resident needs and effectively manage evening routines.

Key Skills

Patient CareClinical DocumentationCare PlanningMobility AssistanceCommunicationPatient AdvocacyGeriatric Care

Occupational Therapist Career Context

In California, the Occupational Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (946 salary observations; 2,060 listings), vs ~$97k nationally (6,767 salary observations; 25,985 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$75k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $68k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Occupational Therapy market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$69k–$81kOccupational Therapy median $96k (middle half $79k–$107k)50 comparable listings, Oct 2026
California vs national$117k median in California$97k nationally (+21%)946 state / 6,767 national salary observations
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$68k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Occupational Therapy listings in California914 active9,299 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Occupational Therapy pay trend+1.5% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top OTA Jobs

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Cert Occupational Therapist Assistant, COTA

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Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

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Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Occupational Therapy Assistant listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,043 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Prava Therapy logo

About Prava Therapy

Software Development
11-50 employees

Benefits & Perks

AI-enabled documentation
Clinical support
Meaningful occupation-based therapy

Living in Poway

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$991k
Typical market rent
$3,325/mo
Residents’ average commute
25 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
111.9
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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