How To Become A Mental Health Technician Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mental health technician lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

The average mental health technician lead salary is $41,525. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an psychology major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a mental health technician lead. Mental health technician leads with a Mental Health certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 64,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a mental health technician lead?

Dr. Meredith Bertrand

Chair of Education; Associate Professor of Education, Elms College

History is ever-changing, and teachers must clarify how current events are just as much a part of the study of history as any other socio-political period or event. If you are not comparing the civil rights movement of today to the ongoing civil rights movements of the past, and if you are not supporting the campaign against oppression and institutional racism upon which our nation was built, then you are doing continuous harm to those who need you to act and disrupt the cycle. History teachers better be ready to be activists, not just teachers, or else you are perpetuating the status quo.

ScoreMental Health Technician LeadUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $41,525

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.12%

Black or African American 7.90%

Hispanic or Latino 7.90%

Unknown 6.24%

White 74.22%

Gender

female 49.48%

male 50.52%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mental health technician lead

Explore mental health technician lead education requirements

Most common mental health technician lead degrees

Bachelor's

58.6 %

Associate

18.6 %

Master's

8.7 %

Start to develop specific mental health technician lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	22.38%
Behavioral Issues	7.94%
Social Work	7.50%
CPR	7.32%
Mental Health Issues	6.43%

Complete relevant mental health technician lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mental health technician leads learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mental health technician lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mental health technician lead resumes.

Research mental health technician lead duties and responsibilities

Manage other MHA's in their duties and help them problem solving in tense and stressful situations.
Certify NCI, CPI and CPR.
Utilize NCI and CPR training when necessary.
Assist in providing an appropriate setting by providing patients with positive reinforcements and natural and logical consequences as appropriate.

Get mental health technician lead experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a mental health technician lead. The most common roles before becoming a mental health technician lead include mental health technician, certified nursing assistant team lead and internship.

Prepare your mental health technician lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mental health technician lead resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a mental health technician lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable mental health technician lead resume templates

Build a professional mental health technician lead resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your mental health technician lead resume.