Occupation Profile

Psychiatric Technicians

(SOC Code : 29-2053)

in California

Care for mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed individuals, following physician instructions and hospital procedures. 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 medications and hypodermic injections.

Employers are usually looking for candidates with Post secondary vocational training .

Occupational Wages

[Top]

Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$25.46	$19.87	$25.78	$28.50

View Wages for All Areas About Wages

Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

[Top]

Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	8,900	10,800	1,900	21.3	340

View Projections for All Areas About Projections

Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

[Top]

Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in California

Within miles of Zip Code.

Possible Licenses Required and Issuing Authority

[Top]

License Title

License Authority

Psychiatric Technician

Department of Consumer Affairs
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
Licensing
www.bvnpt.ca.gov

About Licenses

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

[Top]

Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

1,393

7.0%

Residential Mental Health Facilities

1.2%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

[Top]

Program Title

Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

[Top]

Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Monitor patients` physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.

Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded patients.

Observe and influence patients` behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.

Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.

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.

Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or developmentally disabled patients to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.

Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.

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.

More Tasks for Psychiatric Technicians

Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

More Skills for Psychiatric Technicians

Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

More Abilities for Psychiatric Technicians

Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

More Work Values for Psychiatric Technicians

Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

More Interests for Psychiatric Technicians

Alternate Titles

Behavioral Health Technicians; Mental Health Technicians (MHT)