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MUSC
Charleston, South Carolina

Creative Arts Therapist I - Art Therapist

Counselor / TherapistFull-Time

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

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

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Job Description Summary

Creative Arts Therapist I provides creative arts therapy (art therapy or music therapy) for patients throughout the hospital as assigned. These positions design and implement creative/expressive arts therapy interventions to meet the patients' treatment goals and documents the patients' response and progress towards the goals identified.

  • Entity
  • Medical University Hospital Authority (MUHA)
  • Worker Type
  • Employee
  • Worker Sub-Type
  • Regular
  • Cost Center
  • CC000271 CHS OH - Arts In Healing
  • Pay Rate Type
  • Hourly
  • Pay Grade
  • Health-23
  • Scheduled Weekly Hours
  • 40

Work Shift

Job Description

Minimum Training and Education: Bachelor’s degree in music therapy or music with an equivalency in music therapy, certification by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (MT-BC); or Master’s degree in Art Therapy; Art Therapist registration (ATR) by the Art Therapy Credentials Board within one year of employment.

Skills

Strong interpersonal skills, creative, flexible, and resourceful. Ability to work collaboratively with care team members at all levels of the organization.

Required Licensure, Certifications, Registrations

Certification by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (MT-BC); or Art therapist registration (ATR) by the Art Therapy Credentials Board within one year of employment.

Certification in Basic Life Support (BLS), either a certification from an American Heart Association (AHA) BLS for Healthcare Providers (or AHA recognized equivalent) or an American Red Cross CPR/AED for Professional Rescuer and Healthcare Provider and certification in Safety Care within the first 30 days of employment required.

Provides assessments and integrates appropriate Creative Arts Therapy interventions for assigned patient population; meeting the cognitive, physical, functional, and expressive needs of patients, patient families, and MUSC community.

Documents and maintains records, progress reports, and statistical information in appropriate formats while also fulfilling the Arts in Healing Program and facility-wide quality assurance/performance improvement standards.

Works collaboratively with select volunteers and Interns within the Arts in Healing Program.

Leads communication and education of the Arts in Healing Program goals, mission, and services to MUSC Health leaders, physicians, care team members, and the community.

Works collaboratively with the Office of Humanities, Development, Government Relations, Patient and Family Centered Care, and Diversity and Inclusion to ensure MUSC community needs are incorporated into the patient-centered Arts in Healing Program.

Additional Job Description

Physical Requirements

Mobility & Posture

Standing: Continuous, Sitting: Continuous, Walking: Continuous, climbing stairs: Infrequent, working indoors: Continuous, working outdoors (temperature extremes): Infrequent, working from elevated areas: Frequent, working in confined/cramped spaces: Frequent, Kneeling: Infrequent, bending at the waist: Continuous, Twisting at the waist: Frequent, Squatting: Frequent

Manual Dexterity & Strength

Pinching operations: Frequent, Gross motor use (fingers/hands): Continuous, Firm grasping (fingers/hands): Continuous, Fine manipulation (fingers/hands): Continuous, reaching overhead: Frequent, Reaching in all directions: Continuous, Repetitive motion (hands/wrists/elbows/shoulders): Continuous, Full use of both legs: Continuous, Balance & coordination (lower extremities): Frequent.

Lifting & Force Requirements

Lift/carry 50 lbs. unassisted: Infrequent, Lift/lower 50 lbs. from floor to 36”: Infrequent, Lift up to 25 lbs. overhead: Infrequent, Exert up to 50 lbs. of force: Frequent

Vision & Sensory

Maintain corrected vision 20/40 (one or both eyes): Continuous, Recognize objects (near/far): Continuous, Color discrimination: Continuous, Depth perception: Continuous, Peripheral vision: Continuous, Hearing acuity (with correction): Continuous, Tactile sensory function: Continuous, Gross motor with fine motor coordination: Continuous.

Selected Positions

  • Olfactory (smell) function: Continuous
  • Respirator use qualification: Continuous

Work Environment & Conditions

  • Effective stress management: Continuous, Rotating shifts: Frequent, Overtime as required: Frequent, Latex-safe environment: Continuous.
  • If you like working with energetic enthusiastic individuals, you will enjoy your career with us!

The Medical University of South Carolina is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

MUSC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or belief, age, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, family or parental status, or any other status protected by state laws and/or federal regulations.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment based upon applicable qualifications, merit and business need.

Medical University of South Carolina participates in the federal E-Verify program to confirm the identity and employment authorization of all newly hired employees. For further information about the E-Verify program, please click here: uscis.gov

Key Responsibilities

The Creative Arts Therapist designs and implements expressive arts therapy interventions to meet patient treatment goals. They also document patient progress and collaborate with care teams to support the Arts in Healing Program.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree in music therapy with MT-BC certification or a Master's degree in Art Therapy with ATR registration. Additionally, certification in Basic Life Support and Safety Care is required within the first 30 days of employment.

Qualifications

Education
Master's degree (postgraduate degree)

Key Skills

Patient assessmentCollaborationDocumentationCreative interventionsPatient-centered care

Counselor Career Context

Of the 50 active Mental Health Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 42% are remote, 26% have no call, 64% require no weekends.

Mental Health Therapy pay on WeekdayDoc is down 1.9% vs. the prior quarter (through Oct 2026).

Mental Health Therapy by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed paynot listedMental Health Therapy median $68k (middle half $59k–$78k)267 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost of livingSouth Carolina index 93.7US average = 100BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Mental Health Therapy listings in South Carolina72 active7,860 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 42% remote · 26% no call · 64% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedSouth Carolina Counselor listings: 8% state a sign-on bonus · 16% offer loan repayment122 active listings, Nov 2026
New Mental Health Therapy listings2,512 in the last 30 days1,528 the 30 days before (+64%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Mental Health Therapy pay trend−1.9% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Counselor Jobs

43 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

42 jobs · 34 employers
13
<$75k
13
$75k-95k
7
$95k-115k
9
$115k-135k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

30 jobs
401k / retirement match
90%
Sign-on bonus
40%
CME allowance
37%
Loan repayment
30%
PSLF eligible
3%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

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Adjuvant Behavior Health · Huntington, West Virginia

$60-$62/hr
#2

Remote Licensed Professional Therapist

Adjuvant Behavior Health · Dallas, Texas

$60-$62/hr
#3

Addiction Counselor|Exceptional Pay & Benefits|Full-Time & Part-Time Opportunities|

$75k-$127k
#4

Clinic Based Counselor|$3,000 Bonus|Exceptional Pay & Benefits| Full-Time|

$75k-$127k
+ 41 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 6.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 20% of Mental Health Therapy (Counseling) listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 7,896 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Charleston

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$530k
Typical market rent
$2,288/mo
Residents’ average commute
24 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
101.0
State income tax
Up to 6.5%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Charleston-North Charleston, SC metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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