Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist

Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist Salary $71,510.40 - $93,558.40 Annually

Location: Throughout San Bernardino County, CA

Job Type: Full-time

Job Number: 26-13132-01

Department: Multiple County Departments

Opening Date: February 28, 2026

Closing Date: Continuous

Description

Benefits

Questions

The Job

Are you a recent Masters graduate looking to be an agent of change and make a difference in delivering health and wellness to millions of residents? Join a team who is passionate about the services they provide and is committed to making a difference throughout San Bernardino County.

The San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health invites qualified professionals to apply for the position of Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist*. Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapists (Marriage and Family Therapy, Master of Social Work, and Professional Clinical Counselor) work in a variety of programs providing rehabilitative mental health/substance abuse services in community mental health clinics, field and institutional settings to children, adolescents, families, and older adults with severe mental or emotional disorders.

Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapists may obtain supervised clinical experience. Applicants willing to work in forensics, criminal justice, or after-hours positions are encouraged to apply, as well as those seeking traditional schedules.*

Official Title: Clinical Therapist, Pre-Licensed

For additional details, please refer to the Clinical Therapist, Pre-Licensed job description.

DBH is also accepting applications for Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist Trainees, Licensed Clinical Therapists I, and Licensed Clinical Therapists II. Please click on a job title to be redirected to the corresponding application. Each position requires its own application.

About the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH)

The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is responsible for providing mental health and substance use disorder services to county residents who are experiencing major mental illness or substance abuse related issues. DBH provides mental health and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services to all age groups, with a primary emphasis on treating children/youth who may be seriously emotionally disturbed, adults who are experiencing a serious and persistent mental illness, and individuals who are experiencing substance use disorders.

DBH also provides an array of outreach/engagement, prevention, and early intervention services. DBHs core values are service, integrity, accountability, and trust.

DBH is a unique County Department comprised of eight (8) direct service areas: Community Outpatient and Transitional Age Youth Services; Youth Collaborative and Justice Involved Services; Substance Use Disorder and Recovery Services; 24 Hour and Specialty Services; Adult Justice Involved and Diversion Services; Medical Services; Community Engagement and Equity Services; Office of Patients Rights, and five (5) indirect service areas: Administrative and Fiscal Services; Public Relations and Outreach Services; Program Support Services; Disaster and Safety Unit; and the Office of Compliance.

The Department currently has a workforce in excess of 1500 positions and an approximate $800 million-dollar annual budget.

Benefits

To review job-specific benefits, please refer to:

• Summary of Benefits
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Pre-Employment Process

Prior to appointment, applicants must pass a background investigation, which includes fingerprinting and medical exam, which may include drug and/or TB testing. Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen or a permanent U.S. resident.

Travel

Travel throughout the County may be required depending on assignment. Employees will be required to make provision for transportation. At the time of hire, a valid California driver license and proof of automobile liability insurance must be produced and maintained for the individual providing the transportation.

Shifts

Some programs offer 24-hour services; some assignments may require employees to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and on-call.

Differential

Clinical therapists regularly assigned to work in detention facilities receive additional compensation. Indicate your interest and availability for positions assigned to detention facilities on the Supplemental Questionnaire.

Sponsorship

Please note San Bernardino County is not able to consider candidates who will require visa sponsorship at the time of application or in the future.

Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist Requirements

Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapists must become licensed by the BBS within six (6) years of the original registration date or be terminated. Upon obtaining license, employees may be promoted to Licensed Clinical Therapist I ($6,409.87 - $8,817.47 monthly).

Minimum Requirements

Intern Registration

Must possess and be on first intern registration number as an AMFT, ACSW, or APCC with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) (i.e., applicants who are within six years of initial registration with the BBS.)

Desired Qualifications

Applicants fluent in American Sign Language, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, and/or Vietnamese are strongly encouraged to apply. Additional compensation is associated with positions requiring the use of bilingual skills. Testing of bilingual skills may be required to receive additional compensation.

Experience

Experience in one or more of the following areas is highly desirable, however, not required:

• Government or private inpatient, psychiatric hospital or behavioral health clinics/programs/contract agencies, serving persistently mentally ill clients.
• Experience providing child/adolescent and family therapy.
• Experience in a crisis intervention/brief therapy setting with severely mentally ill adults/children.
• Experience in quality assurance or utilization review activities.
• Experience with intensive care coordination with physical health care providers for severely persistently mentally ill clients.
• Experience with case management for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
• Experience with coordinating care for individuals with co-occurring substance disorders.
• Experience in transitional care coordination between inpatient and outpatient levels of care for medical complexity or severely persistently mentally ill adults and children.
• Experience working with detained youth and incarcerated adults in correctional settings, such as institutions/locked detention facilities or with probationers/offenders recently released from a correctional setting.

Selection Process

Application Procedure

There will be a competitive evaluation of qualifications based on the information provided in the Application and the Supplemental Questionnaire. You are encouraged to include detailed descriptions of your qualifying experience, as only the most highly qualified applicants will be referred to the Department. Please ensure all relevant experience is indicated in the Application and responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire, as resumes and other attachments will not be reviewed for the competitive evaluation.

Completing Your Application

Please be sure to review all information provided prior to submitting it as you cannot update or revise it once submitted. Your submitted application will be reviewed and evaluated as is. Please do not refer to a resume or other documentation in lieu of completing the employment history section or responding to the supplemental questions; they will not be reviewed or considered.

Applicant Acknowledgement

Thank you for taking the time to complete this application and supplemental questionnaire. Please be sure to review all information provided prior to submitting it as you cannot update or revise it once submitted. Your submitted application will be reviewed and evaluated as is. Please do not refer to a resume or other documentation in lieu of completing the employment history section or responding to the supplemental questions; they will not be reviewed or considered.

Required Question

Employer: San Bernardino County Address: 175 West Fifth Street, 1st Floor, San Bernardino, California, 92415-0440 Phone: (909) 387-8304 TTY Users: 711 Website: http://www.sbcounty.gov/jobs