How to hire a psychiatric aide

How to hire a psychiatric aide, step by step

Here's a step-by-step psychiatric aide hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a psychiatric aide job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new psychiatric aide
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the psychiatric aide you need to hire. Certain psychiatric aide roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a psychiatric aide to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a psychiatric aide that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of psychiatric aides.

   Type of Psychiatric Aide	Description	Hourly rate
   Psychiatric Aide	Psychiatric technicians and aides care for people who have mental illness and developmental disabilities. Technicians typically provide therapeutic care and monitor their patients’ conditions... Show more	$12-19
   Mental Health Worker	A mental health worker is a professional who provides basic care and therapy to patients who are inflicted with mental disabilities or developmental disabilities. Mental health workers assist patients with their daily activities, monitor their conditions, and administer therapeutic care... Show more	$13-28
   Behavioral Health Technician	A behavioral health technician participates in treating patients with behavioral problems caused by mental health issues. They are primarily responsible for monitoring the behavior of the patient, following the guidelines of treatment from a mental health professional, and regularly reporting any progress or problems... Show more	$12-22

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Vital Signs
   • Social Work
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Blood Pressure
   • Rehabilitation
   • Restraints
   • Therapeutic Environment
   • CPR
   • Emergency Situations
   • Behavioral Observations
   • ADL
   • Direct Patient Care
   • State Hospital

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Prioritize and utilize therapeutic communication and CPI skills to diffuse and manage difficult situations.
   • Assist patients in becoming accustom to hospital routines and encourage them to participate in social and recreational activities to promote rehabilitation.
   • Train in cpr but certificate has expire.
   • Assist residents with adl and social skills.
   • Discover client cut him down and administer CPR.
   • Communicate effectively to patient and uphold HIPPA laws and regulations.

   More psychiatric aide duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your psychiatric aide job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A psychiatric aide can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, psychiatric aides' average salary in florida is 33% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level psychiatric aides 39% less than senior-level psychiatric aides.
   • Certifications. A psychiatric aide with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a psychiatric aide's salary.

   Average psychiatric aide salary

   $15.73hourly

   $32,724 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level psychiatric aide salary

   $25,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 11, 2025

   Average psychiatric aide salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$34,166	$16
   2	Montana	$33,741	$16
   3	North Dakota	$33,621	$16
   4	Utah	$33,346	$16
   5	Rhode Island	$32,583	$16
   6	New Jersey	$32,464	$16
   7	Connecticut	$31,188	$15
   8	Louisiana	$25,874	$12
   9	Florida	$22,851	$11

   Average psychiatric aide salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Psychiatric Medical Care	$38,768	$18.64	1
   2	Halifax Health	$36,195	$17.40	7
   3	Community Care Alliance	$36,079	$17.35	1
   4	CHI St. Alexius Health	$35,915	$17.27
   5	Sea Mar Community Health Centers	$35,548	$17.09	17
   6	Catholic Health Initiatives - Colorado	$32,566	$15.66	36
   7	Kaiser Permanente	$32,290	$15.52	62
   8	Louisiana State Police	$29,310	$14.09
   9	State Of Montana	$28,956	$13.92	6

4. Writing a psychiatric aide job description

   A psychiatric aide job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a psychiatric aide job description:

   Psychiatric aide job description example

   The position serves as part of the treatment team and is involved in planning, organizing and conducting adjunctive services (recreational and diversional activities) which involves the implementation of moderately complex therapeutic procedures and the application of various techniques in patient care services. The position also provides a variety of personal care and nursing services to patients in the unit.
   Essential Responsibilities:
   
   Orient patients to the hospital setting, rules and regulations, patient rights and treatment team system.
   
   Perform as a companion for newly admitted patients to establish rapport and facilitate a social network with other patients on the unit.
   
   Take temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, height and weight. Monitor seclusion/restraint status. Record observations/findings in patient's chart. Observe patient's physical and psychological needs and report findings to the charge nurse.
   
   Participate as a member of the treatment team and provide input into the formulation of patients' master treatment plans.
   
   Provide input and assist in planning therapeutic interventions in situational crises.
   
   Participate in/conduct daily community meetings with team members to set goals for the day.
   
   Implement training for patients in developing self-help skills such as toileting, feeding, bathing, dressing, basic oral hygiene and other activities of daily living.
   
   Implement adjunctive services (recreational and diversional activities) planned and developed by the RPN, Recreational Therapist and/or Occupational Therapist for the general therapeutic milieu of the unit.
   
   Maintain a safe and therapeutic milieu for patients and employees at all times. Report and initiate corrective measures of any known unsafe environmental conditions.
   
   Monitor contraband materials and enforce unit rules and regulations at all times.
   
   Evaluate, with the charge nurse and other team members, the effectiveness of approaches utilized in crisis intervention during the shift.
   
   Assist in the evaluation of patients' conditions and progress based on their master treatment plans.
   
   Admit, transfer and/or discharge patients; assist in emergency procedures such as fire escape and drill (e.g., Code Red, Code Yellow, etc.), seclusion and restraints, patient searches, bomb threats and disaster drills, etc.; transport/escort patients as assigned; provide physical care to patients who are physically and/or emotionally unable to take care of themselves; attend in-service and other continuing educational programs; temporarily work on another unit, as necessary; participate in hospital-wide quality assurance and infection control activities; participate in research surveys, etc.
   
   Basic Qualifications:
   
   Experience
   
   N/A
   
   Education
   
   High School Diploma or GED.
   
   License, Certification, Registration
   
   Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Workers upon date of hire.
   
   Additional Requirements:
   
   Demonstrated proficiency in the application of all of the knowledge and abilities, specified below for the Full Performance level, in providing the full range of services to the clientele of the work site, independently.
   
   Knowledge of the policies, procedures and work rules of the work site.
   
   Preferred Qualifications:
   
   Minimum one (1) year of work experience in a mental health facility/unit which involved learning and performing selected therapeutic activities involving various types of mental health problems and general behavioral and psychiatric procedures.
   
   Minimum one (1) year of mental health work experience in acute care setting.
   
   COMPANY: KAISER
   
   TITLE: Psychiatric Aide
   
   LOCATION: Wailuku, Hawaii
   
   REQNUMBER: 995841
   
   External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, state and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran, or disability status.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find psychiatric aides for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any psychiatric aides they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level psychiatric aides with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your psychiatric aide job on Zippia to find and attract quality psychiatric aide candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting psychiatric aides requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new psychiatric aide

   Once you have selected a candidate for the psychiatric aide position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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