Psychiatric Technicians
Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. May participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral or injectable medications.
Also Known As:
BHT (Behavioral Health Technician)
Health Care Technician (Health Care Tech)
LPT (Licensed Psychiatric Technician)
MHA (Mental Health Assistant)
MHW (Mental Health Worker)
Mental Health Associate
Mental Health Specialist
Mental Health Technician (MHT)
Psychiatric Technician (PT)
Residential Aide (RA)
Wages
Annual wages for Psychiatric Technicians in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
145,800
17% Change From 2023
Explore Psychiatric Technicians video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
- Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
- Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.
- Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.
- Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history.
- Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
- Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.
- Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
- Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.
- Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.
- Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
- Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.
- Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
- Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.
- Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences.
- Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
- Escort patients to medical appointments.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")