Occupation · SOC 31-1133
Psychiatric Aides
Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.
Median wage
$41,590
$30,920–$58,530
Projected growth
—
—
Annual openings
—
per year
Employed (US)
34,900
Job Zone 2
Typical preparation
Some preparation
Stackable credential programs
49 mapped
Core skills
Social PerceptivenessService OrientationSpeakingActive ListeningMonitoringCritical ThinkingActive LearningCoordination
Knowledge areas
PsychologyCustomer and Personal ServiceTherapy and CounselingEnglish Language
Technology & tools
Electronic mail softwareSpreadsheet softwareOffice suite softwarePresentation softwareOperating system software
Representative tasks
Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routines.Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.Complete administrative tasks, such as entering orders into computer, answering telephone calls, or maintaining medical or facility information.Accompany patients to and from wards for medical or dental treatments, shopping trips, or religious or recreational events.Participate in recreational activities with patients, including card games, sports, or television viewing.Perform nursing duties, such as administering medications, measuring vital signs, collecting specimens, or drawing blood samples.Interview patients upon admission and record information.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Emotional support and active listening — provide to assigned psychiatric patients under direct staff supervision on an inpatient unit.Patient physical checks — conduct at scheduled intervals following written protocols in a supervised psychiatric ward.Unusual or harmful patient behaviors — recognize and report immediately to a charge nurse or supervising clinician during a shift.Patient area restrictions — enforce by guiding patients back to assigned zones under the direction of senior staff.Vital signs and basic intake data — record accurately into patient charts using facility-approved forms under direct oversight.Restraint techniques — apply basic approved holds to prevent patient self-harm or injury to others when directed by a licensed nurse.Therapeutic activity sessions — assist in setting up and facilitating social or recreational programs led by professional staff.Interdisciplinary team meetings — participate as an observer or note-taker, reporting aide-level observations to clinical team members.Electronic mail and word processing software — use to send shift reports and complete basic documentation tasks under supervisory guidance.Eating habits and daily behavior — observe and document for patients with cognitive or developmental disabilities following a structured care plan.
developing
Emotional and psychological encouragement — deliver consistently to a caseload of psychiatric patients during routine daily interactions with reduced direct oversight.Behavioral monitoring logs — maintain accurately across a full shift, identifying patterns that warrant escalation to nursing staff.Physical care routines — implement independently for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities following established nursing care plans.De-escalation communication — apply practiced verbal techniques to calm agitated patients before physical intervention becomes necessary.Multidisciplinary team collaboration — contribute aide-level observations and progress notes during scheduled patient review meetings.Social and educational activity programs — organize and supervise small patient groups with minimal prompting from professional staff.Patient discharge planning documentation — update assigned sections of discharge plans accurately using office suite or medical software.Area restriction management — monitor and maintain independently across multiple patient assignments within a psychiatric unit.Reading comprehension of clinical notes — interpret care plan updates and treatment instructions to adjust daily patient support tasks accordingly.Crisis response protocols — follow and execute established procedures when a patient displays sudden escalation in harmful behavior.
proficient
Complex patient behavioral profiles — assess and interpret independently, adjusting daily care approaches without routine supervisory direction on an inpatient psychiatric floor.Non-routine emotional crises — manage autonomously using advanced active listening and social perceptiveness skills before clinical escalation.Comprehensive patient progress notes — write and maintain with clinical accuracy across multiple patients using electronic medical record software.Individualized activity programs — design and lead therapeutic social, educational, or recreational sessions tailored to each patient's cognitive level.Restraint and safety procedures — execute and evaluate in high-acuity situations, applying judgment to determine appropriate level of intervention.Coordination with psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers — facilitate effectively by synthesizing aide observations into actionable clinical information.Patient care plan adherence — monitor and identify deviations across a full unit caseload, initiating corrective action within aide scope of practice.Orientation and onboarding — guide newly hired aides through shift workflows, documentation standards, and behavior observation techniques.Medical and behavioral data trends — analyze across multiple patients using spreadsheet software to flag emerging safety concerns for clinical review.Ethical dilemmas in patient care — navigate using sound judgment and facility policy, balancing patient autonomy with safety requirements.
advanced
Unit-wide behavioral safety culture — lead the development and continuous improvement of monitoring protocols across an entire psychiatric care setting.Aide team performance and development — direct, mentor, and evaluate a team of psychiatric aides to sustain high standards of patient-centered care.Interdisciplinary care model integration — shape the aide role within broader clinical teams by advocating for aide-level insights in care planning and policy decisions.Therapeutic activity programming strategy — oversee the design and evaluation of facility-wide social, recreational, and educational programs aligned with patient treatment goals.Crisis response systems — establish and refine facility de-escalation and restraint protocols, ensuring compliance with regulatory and patient rights standards.Staff training curriculum — develop and deliver competency-based training programs for psychiatric aides covering observation, documentation, and therapeutic communication.Patient safety incident analysis — lead post-incident reviews, identify root causes, and implement corrective measures across a psychiatric department.Regulatory and accreditation compliance — ensure aide team documentation, reporting practices, and care delivery meet Joint Commission and state licensing standards.Workforce scheduling and resource allocation — manage aide staffing levels across shifts to maintain safe patient-to-staff ratios on a psychiatric inpatient unit.Organizational quality improvement initiatives — contribute aide-sector data and frontline expertise to hospital-wide patient experience and safety improvement projects.
Also known as
46 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Neuropsychiatric AideMental Health Worker (MHW)Resident Care Technician (Resident Care Tech)Psychiatrist (Army 60W)Charge AttendantBehavioral Health Specialist (Army 68X)Psychiatric AideBehavioral AssistantMental-Retardation AideBehavioral Health Technician (Navy 001387)Direct Care WorkerPsychiatric AssistantMental Health AssistantBHA (Behavioral Health Aide)Psychiatric AttendantResidential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician)Behavior AideMental Health Service Superintendent (Air Force 4C091)Mental Health Service Apprentice (Air Force 4C031)Mental Health Program AssistantHealth Service WorkerDevelopmental AideNurse Corps Officer (Army 66)Mental Health AssociatePsychiatric Nursing AideMental Health Service Craftsman (Air Force 4C071)Mental Health Service (Air Force 4C0X1)Behavioral Health AssistantMental Health Service Journeyman (Air Force 4C051)Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW)Charge AideBehavior Intervention AssistantBehavioral AideQualified Medication Aide (QMA)Mental Health Service Manager (Air Force 4C000)Mental Health Aide (MHA)Behavioral Health Technician (Navy L24A)Mental Health OrderlyPsychiatric Technician Assistant (Psychiatric Tech Assistant)Behavior Assistant