COOVA HEALTH
Human Care, Thoroughly Coordinated
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST (OT)
Independent Contractor | British Columbia
WHY WORK WITH COOVA HEALTH?
What if your clinical work was truly collaborative and was supported by a team that handles the logistics while you focus on what you do best? What if your work addressed both the mental health and the functional barriers they face, with space to build routines that truly stick? That's the role.
This is a flexible, part-time contract position designed to fit around your existing commitments, not replace them. You choose how many clients to take on, set your own schedule, and work in the environments that make sense for you and your clients. Your role is consultation-focused and clinically driven. You bring your expertise, provide assessments and interventions, offer progress updates, and collaborate with our interdisciplinary team as needed. This is not a high-pressure, full-caseload position. This role is designed to complement your practice, not consume it. You're supported by dedicated case managers who handle coordination, scheduling, insurance navigation, and administrative logistics, so you can focus purely on high-quality clinical work. We offer small caseloads, whole-person practice and real-world impact.
WHO WE ARE
Coova Health provides private case management for individuals, families, and community organizations navigating challenging situations. We are who you call when someone is consulting with multiple specialists, all speaking different terminology. We step in to act as a single point of continuity. We bring structure, support, accountability, and clarity to layered cases. We walk alongside healthcare providers, schools, caregivers, families, and all who are part of someone's circle of care.
YOUR ROLE MAY INCLUDE INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS:
- Conduct comprehensive functional assessments addressing activity participation, daily routines, sensory needs, physical capacity, environmental barriers, and vocational goals
- Support functional activation for clients experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, or psychotic disorders
- Develop activity scheduling and behavioral activation strategies to support gradual re-engagement in self-care, household tasks, work, and social participation
- Design graded exposure plans for anxiety, PTSD, or social withdrawal building tolerance and confidence step by step
- Implement sensory modulation strategies for clients with autism, ADHD, anxiety, or sensory processing differences
- Conduct in-home assessments addressing mobility, safety, environmental modifications, and adaptive strategies when physical barriers intersect with mental health challenges
- Recommend adaptive equipment, assistive technology, or environmental modifications when needed to support independence
- Support hospital-to-home transitions, return-to-work planning, and community reintegration for clients with concurrent physical and mental health needs
- Develop life skills programming addressing self-care, household management, time management, and social participation
- Collaborate with psychiatrists, counsellors, RPNs, case managers, and other healthcare providers to integrate OT interventions with broader treatment
- Adapt strategies when a client's mental or physical health status shifts: guiding them toward what is realistic and sustainable
WHAT YOU BRING
Must-haves:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Occupational Therapy from an accredited program
- Active registration with the College of Occupational Therapists of BC (COTBC) in good standing
- 2–3+ years of OT experience ideally with exposure to both mental health and physical/functional OT practice
- Comprehensive understanding of COTBC practice standards and relevant British Columbia legislation
- Demonstrated ability to conduct occupation-based assessments and implement evidence-based OT interventions
- Experience with activity analysis, graded task design, and functional activation strategies
- Understanding of mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, PTSD, psychotic disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions) and their impact on occupation
- Deep knowledge of BC healthcare systems, community resources, mental health supports, and equipment funding programs
- Confident working independently in community settings and with diverse client populations
- Clear, concise documentation skills that would hold up to regulatory scrutiny
- Ability to identify functional barriers, whether physical, cognitive, sensory, or psychosocial and then apply a solution-focused mindset with strategic thinking and possible pathways forward
- Give and receive constructive feedback with professionalism and genuine openness as thought partnership is central to how we build excellent care plans
- Adapt when plans shift or a client's health status changes. You stay steady and solutions-oriented even when families are navigating difficult decisions
- Professional liability insurance (minimum $2 million coverage)
- Valid BC driver's license and access to a personal vehicle for work-related purposes, with business use insurance coverage
Bonus skills (highly valued):
- Mental health OT experience (community mental health, concurrent disorders, early psychosis, psychosocial rehabilitation)
- Training in sensory processing, sensory modulation, or sensory integration
- Experience with cognitive strategies for executive function, attention, memory
- Physical OT experience (home assessments, adaptive equipment, mobility strategies, fall prevention)
- Supported employment or vocational rehabilitation experience
- Experience with chronic pain, chronic disease management, or geriatrics
- Training in trauma-informed practice, DBT skills, motivational interviewing, or ACT
- Experience with neurodevelopmental populations (autism, ADHD, intellectual disabilities)
- Familiarity with assistive technology, ADP funding, home modification resources
- Bilingual or multilingual capacity
WHAT WE OFFER
- Revenue-share model: your compensation increases with your experience and tenure at Coova
- Flexible scheduling that accommodates your other commitments
- Autonomy backed by clinical supervision as you will always work as part of a team
- Interdisciplinary collaboration as cases are held by a team, not a single clinician
- A genuine opportunity to help shape a first-of-its-kind private OT model that integrates mental health and functional practice
WHO THRIVES IN THIS ROLE
This role is ideal for occupational therapists who:
- Are energized by whole-person OT and the complexity of concurrent mental health and physical challenges
- Value occupation-based intervention and understand that meaningful activity is therapeutic
- Want to support people over time by building routines that stick, skills that last, and adaptations that work in real life
- Are comfortable integrating mental health OT strategies (activation, graded exposure, sensory modulation) with traditional OT skills (home assessments, adaptive equipment, environmental modification) as client needs require
- Stay calm and constructive when working with people whose health fluctuates thus leading with flexibility and person-centered practice
- Hold clinical precision and deep humanity in equal measure
HOW TO APPLY
Apply directly on our website — complete the intake form and upload your resume at:
www.coovahealth.ca/team/
We will consider other professional designations when skills and experience match job description expectations.
EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
This position is an independent contractor role, not an employment relationship. You must:
- Be responsible for your own income tax remittances, CPP contributions, and EI premiums
- Maintain your own professional liability insurance
- Set your own schedule in collaboration with client needs and team coordination
- Not be entitled to employment benefits, vacation pay, or statutory holiday pay under the BC Employment Standards Act
- Invoice Coova Health for services rendered based on the agreed revenue-share structure
- Retain the right to decline assignments and to collaborate with other organizations
A formal independent contractor agreement will be provided upon offer, outlining the terms of the relationship, compensation structure, confidentiality obligations, and termination provisions in compliance with British Columbia law.
[email protected] | coovahealth.ca | Human Care, Thoroughly Coordinated
Pay: $30.10-$110.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Flexible schedule
Education:
- Master's Degree (preferred)
Licence/Certification:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Burnaby, BC V5E 4J6
