Occupation · SOC 29-2053
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.
Median wage
$42,590
$32,980–$60,150
Projected growth
+19.9%
Faster than average
Annual openings
2,890
per year
Employed (US)
136,300
Job Zone 3
Typical preparation
Medium preparation
Stackable credential programs
40 mapped
Core skills
Social PerceptivenessMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingCoordinationReading ComprehensionService OrientationCritical Thinking
Knowledge areas
PsychologyTherapy and CounselingEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal ServiceMedicine and Dentistry
Technology & tools
Medical softwareInventory management softwareSpreadsheet softwareOffice suite softwareElectronic mail software
Representative tasks
Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.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.Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.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.Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.Escort patients to medical appointments.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.Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history.Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Personal care routines for patients with cognitive or developmental disabilities — perform under direct supervision following established facility protocols on an inpatient psychiatric unit.Patients' physical vital signs including temperature and blood pressure — collect and record using standard medical devices under the guidance of a supervising nurse or clinician.Unusual patient behaviors or physical symptoms — recognize and report promptly to medical staff following the unit's escalation procedures.Daily living tasks such as bathing, bed-making, and clothing care — assist patients in completing with respectful, person-centered support on a residential psychiatric ward.Basic therapeutic activity schedules including recreational and social programs — support participation by encouraging patients and following the activity plan prepared by senior staff.Patient observations and care notes — document in medical software or written logs using clear, accurate language under supervisor review.Active listening skills — apply during one-on-one patient interactions to identify expressed needs and relay relevant information to the clinical team.De-escalation language and verbal calming techniques — practice under direction when patients display early signs of agitation in a supervised inpatient setting.Unit safety and restraint protocols — demonstrate awareness of and preparedness to assist trained staff during crisis situations as directed.Therapeutic boundaries and professional conduct standards — follow consistently when interacting with patients across all shifts in a psychiatric care environment.
developing
Nursing and personal care tasks for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities — perform routinely with minimal supervision, adapting approaches to individual patient needs on an inpatient unit.Patients' physical and emotional well-being across a full shift — monitor systematically and document observations in electronic medical records, flagging changes to clinical staff in a timely manner.Work skill development and social participation activities — encourage and facilitate independently, guiding patients toward therapeutic goals outlined in their individualized care plans.Verbal de-escalation and, when necessary, physical restraint procedures — apply in accordance with facility protocols when managing agitated or potentially violent patients in a locked psychiatric ward.Prescribed group therapy or structured activity sessions — co-facilitate under clinical oversight, applying basic counseling and instructional techniques with patient groups of varying acuity.Social perceptiveness — use during patient interactions to detect subtle behavioral or emotional cues and adjust communication strategies accordingly in a community mental health or hospital setting.Interpersonal boundaries, therapeutic rapport, and empathic communication — maintain consistently while supporting patients through daily routines and behavioral challenges.Inventory and supply tracking for unit equipment and medications — manage using inventory management software to ensure availability of materials required for patient care.Care plan documentation including progress notes and incident reports — compose clearly and accurately using word processing or office suite software within required time frames.Time management across concurrent patient assignments — demonstrate by prioritizing care tasks effectively during high-census or short-staffed shifts on a psychiatric unit.
proficient
Complex psychiatric and behavioral presentations including self-harm risk and acute psychosis — assess independently, implement evidence-informed interventions, and coordinate responses with the multidisciplinary clinical team.Individual and group therapy sessions prescribed within treatment protocols — lead autonomously, applying counseling, instructional, and motivational techniques tailored to patients' cognitive and emotional levels.Non-routine behavioral crises including violent or suicidal episodes — manage with skilled verbal and physical intervention, ensuring patient and staff safety in high-acuity inpatient environments.Patients' trajectories across the full scope of psychiatric technician practice — monitor holistically, integrating physical vital data, behavioral observations, and family input to inform ongoing care decisions.Therapeutic skill-building programs targeting social relationships, vocational readiness, and daily living independence — design and implement for individual patients in collaboration with occupational and rehabilitation specialists.Critical thinking and deductive reasoning — apply when interpreting ambiguous patient behavioral data to distinguish psychiatric symptoms from medical complications and recommend appropriate escalation pathways.Negotiation and persuasion techniques — employ skillfully to engage resistant or non-compliant patients in prescribed treatments, using patient-centered motivational strategies in outpatient and residential settings.Electronic health records and medical software platforms — use proficiently to maintain comprehensive, legally compliant documentation of patient assessments, interventions, and outcomes.Complex problem-solving — demonstrate when adapting care strategies for patients whose conditions do not respond to standard protocols, drawing on psychology and therapy and counseling knowledge domains.Interdisciplinary team communication — contribute substantively in clinical rounds and care conferences, delivering precise oral and written assessments that inform physician and nursing decision-making.
advanced
Psychiatric technician practice standards and unit-level care quality — lead improvement initiatives by analyzing patient outcome data, identifying gaps, and implementing evidence-based protocol changes across the department.New and developing psychiatric technicians — mentor and evaluate systematically, designing structured on-the-job learning experiences that accelerate competency development within a Job Zone 3 training framework.Facility-wide crisis prevention and behavioral management programs — develop and oversee, establishing restraint-reduction initiatives and staff training curricula that align with accreditation and regulatory requirements.Organizational policies governing patient rights, public safety, and legal compliance in psychiatric care — interpret and translate into operational procedures, ensuring staff adherence across all shifts and units.Interdisciplinary care delivery models for patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities — architect in collaboration with nursing leadership, psychology, and social work to optimize therapeutic outcomes at a systems level.Complex problem escalations involving high-risk patients, ethical dilemmas, or safety events — serve as the senior decision-maker, applying advanced judgment to resolve situations beyond the scope of frontline staff.Technology adoption across the psychiatric unit including medical software, electronic mail, and spreadsheet-based reporting tools — champion and guide, improving workflow efficiency and documentation accuracy organization-wide.Departmental staffing, scheduling, and resource allocation — manage strategically to maintain safe patient-to-technician ratios and sustainable workload distribution in high-demand inpatient psychiatric environments.Community partnerships, referral networks, and transitional care pathways — cultivate to support patients' continuity of care from inpatient psychiatric settings into outpatient, residential, or vocational rehabilitation programs.Organizational culture of empathy, dependability, and stress tolerance — model and reinforce through visible leadership behaviors, peer recognition programs, and reflective practice forums that sustain workforce well-being in a psychiatric care setting.
Also known as
78 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Dental Assistant (Air Force 4Y0X1)Psychiatrist, Forensic Psychiatry (Air Force 44P4B)Support Team Member (STM)Psychiatric AssistantClinical Psychology (Army 73B)Psychiatrist, Sleep Pathology (Air Force 44P4F)Psychiatrist, Psychosomatic Psychiatry (Air Force 44P1D)Psychology AssociateMilieu TherapistNurse Corps Officer (Army 66)Psychology Technician (Psychology Tech)Mental Health Nurse (Air Force 46P4)Dental Assistant Helper (Air Force 4Y011)RBT (Registered Behavior Technician)Health Services Management Superintendent (Air Force 4A091)Behavioral Technician (Behavioral Tech)Residential Aide (RA)Psychiatrist, Child Psychiatry (Air Force 44P4A)BHT (Behavioral Health Technician)Psychiatric Safety Tech (Psychiatric Safety Technician)Health Services Management Craftsman, Health Information Technology (Air Force 4A071S)Psychiatrist, Psychosomatic Psychiatry (Air Force 44P4D)Psychiatrist, Child Psychiatry (Air Force 44P1A)Behavior Technician (Behavior Tech)Psychiatric TechnicianPsychiatrist (Air Force 44P4)Mental Health Nurse (Air Force 46PX)Dental Assistant Journeyman (Air Force 4Y051)Autism Behavior Technician (Autism Behavior Tech)Psychiatrist, Neuropsychiatry (Air Force 44P1E)Health Services Management Helper (Air Force 4A011)Psychiatric/Behavioral Health Nurse Practitioner (Army 66R)Mental Health SpecialistHealth Services Management Journeyman (Air Force 4A051)MHA (Mental Health Assistant)Behavioral Health AssociateMedical Administration Specialty (Coast Guard MED)Psychiatric Technician (PT)LPT (Licensed Psychiatric Technician)Psychiatrist (Air Force 44P3)