Outpatient physical therapist vs mental health technician

The differences between outpatient physical therapists and mental health technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outpatient physical therapist has an average salary of $66,359, which is higher than the $32,118 average annual salary of a mental health technician.

The top three skills for an outpatient physical therapist include patients, physical therapy and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a mental health technician are patients, vital signs, and CPR.

Outpatient physical therapist vs mental health technician overview

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Mental Health Technician
Yearly salary	$66,359	$32,118
Hourly rate	$31.90	$15.44
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	119,973	103,710
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	41	34
Years of experience	-	-

What does an outpatient physical therapist do?

An outpatient physical therapist specializes in diagnosing and treating a patient's movement dysfunction often caused by an illness or injury. Their responsibilities revolve around studying a patient's medical history, performing initial assessments, crafting a specific care and treatment plan, and discussing the extent of treatments with patients and their families. An outpatient physical therapist may also provide advice to families or guardians on how to assist and care for patients at home, prescribe medication, and perform follow-up consultations.

What does a mental health technician do?

A mental health technician's primary responsibility is to provide care and assistance to patients with mental health issues. Their tasks mainly revolve around administering scheduled and prescribed medication, monitoring vital signs, assisting during therapy sessions, and assessing patients' progress and behavior. They may also have administrative support tasks such as processing necessary documentation, preparing reports, managing schedules, and even reaching out to patients' guardians and families. A mental health technician may also build a healthy rapport with patients, giving them guidance and positive influence.

Outpatient physical therapist vs mental health technician salary

Outpatient physical therapists and mental health technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Mental Health Technician
Average salary	$66,359	$32,118
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $108,000	Between $25,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	California	Vermont
Best paying company	Accountable Healthcare Holdings Corp.	CARE
Best paying industry	Non Profits	Health Care

Differences between outpatient physical therapist and mental health technician education

There are a few differences between an outpatient physical therapist and a mental health technician in terms of educational background:

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Mental Health Technician
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 49%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Social Work	Psychology
Most common college	Boston University	California State University - Long Beach

Outpatient physical therapist vs mental health technician demographics

Here are the differences between outpatient physical therapists' and mental health technicians' demographics:

	Outpatient Physical Therapist	Mental Health Technician
Average age	41	34
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 14.3% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.4% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	12%	15%

Differences between outpatient physical therapist and mental health technician duties and responsibilities

Outpatient physical therapist example responsibilities.

Facilitate development of coping techniques to manage psychiatric symptoms effectively; educate patients on importance of medication management and compliance.
Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Perform assessments with clients to determine diagnosis and need of services.
Complete intake assessment and formulate diagnosis.
Assist veterans with transportation to interviews.
Provide active case management service for veterans in residential treatment.

Mental health technician example responsibilities.

Prevent and manage aggressive behavior among patients and administer CPR in emergency intervention.
Assist and organize workshops consisting of education, personal self-defense, CPR, and other techniques relating to mental health patients.
Assist in taking care of mental health patients, doing rounds on the ward, helping patients with compassion and care.
Apply immeasurable levels of compassion to preserve and safeguard the dignity of patients at all times.
Observe patient behaviors, if patients become physically violent, CPI training restraint techniques may become necessary.
Conduct patient rounds, assist with ADL care, offer therapeutic support, and provide written reports on assign patients

Outpatient physical therapist vs mental health technician skills

Common outpatient physical therapist skills

Patients, 23%
Physical Therapy, 17%
Rehabilitation, 11%
Patient Care, 10%
Therapy Services, 5%
Social Work, 5%

Common mental health technician skills

Patients, 26%
Vital Signs, 7%
CPR, 6%
Social Work, 5%
Crisis Intervention, 5%
Patient Safety, 4%

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Outpatient Physical Therapist
Outpatient Physical Therapist vs Mental Health Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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