What is a psychiatric technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Sepideh Soheilian Ph.D.

A psychiatric technician is someone who works in a mental health facility or hospital under the supervision of a psychiatrist or registered nurse and provides direct patient care to individuals with mental illness and emotional disorders. They help patients with daily living activities, administering medication, monitoring symptoms, and observing and reporting any changes in mood or behavior. Overall, their goal is to help individuals with mental illness achieve stability and improve their quality of life.

What general advice would you give to a psychiatric technician?

Sepideh Soheilian Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Baltimore

General advice I would give to a graduate in the field of counseling psychology beginning their career is to be flexible and open minded, especially during these unprecedented times due to the pandemic. Being open to providing mental health services in a variety of formats such as virtual or hybrid (combining virtual, and in-person services) will allow for greater flexibility in providing services to clients. Career development and career satisfaction is an ongoing process. Therefore, I would also encourage graduates to continually evaluate and assess their careers to determine if their current position is still the best fit for their career values, needs, and goals.

ScorePsychiatric TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.1

Avg. Salary $39,662

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.13%

Asian 6.43%

Black or African American 14.26%

Hispanic or Latino 20.09%

Unknown 6.17%

White 51.91%

Gender

female 59.86%

male 40.14%

Age - 30

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 - 30

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a psychiatric technician?

Pros

Opportunity to make a positive impact on patients' lives
Rewarding and fulfilling work
Variety of duties and responsibilities
Job security and stability
Competitive salary and benefits

Cons

High stress and burnout rates
Limited resources and support staff
Challenging work environment with limited recognition or appreciation from others
Potential for workplace violence or harassment
Limited opportunities for creativity or autonomy

Key steps to become a psychiatric technician

Explore psychiatric technician education requirements

Most common psychiatric technician degrees

Bachelor's

58.6 %

Associate

17.4 %

High School Diploma

9.0 %

Start to develop specific psychiatric technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	26.93%
Mental Health	8.75%
Social Work	5.92%
Vital Signs	5.59%
Patient Behavior	4.08%

Complete relevant psychiatric technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New psychiatric technicians 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 psychiatric technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real psychiatric technician resumes.

Research psychiatric technician duties and responsibilities

Prioritize and utilize therapeutic communication and CPI skills to diffuse and manage difficult situations.
Participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, also lead prescribed individual and group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
Respond to emergency situations such as fire evacuation or the administration of first aid and/or CPR.
Observe patients comfort levels and mood changes, show compassion and respect to minimize clients stress levels.

Prepare your psychiatric technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your psychiatric technician 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 psychiatric technician resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable psychiatric technician resume templates

Build a professional psychiatric technician 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 psychiatric technician resume.