How to Become a Psychiatric Technician
Highly trained professional psychologists spend years in school to ascend to the positions of great responsibility they hold in mental health care in America. It’s an important path, but a tough one, and it comes with real rewards… not least among them the satisfaction of showing up for work every day to help the people who need it most.
Yet there is another job in the mental healthcare field where you get exactly that same benefit—maybe even more of it. And you can get it without any college degree at all.
That’s the role of the psychiatric technician.
A psychiatric technician may become the person most intimately familiar with patients in the entire treatment process.
Dealing with the same patients and in many cases getting to know them even more closely than therapists, psych techs are in a unique position to both make a difference and to see the impact their care has. Not much happens in the world of intensive mental health treatment without them. Many of them will never want to do anything else.
What’s in a Psychiatric Technician’s Job Description?
Psych techs are healthcare professionals who offer direct care to individuals with mental health issues and development or behavioral disabilities. They work under the supervision of psychiatrists, providing the daily hands-on implementation of treatment plans that those senior professionals have developed.
Also sometimes called mental health technicians or behavioral health technicians, they are the staff who consistently have the most client contact and provide the most care and guidance to patients in the psychiatric health care system.
Psych techs handle the most essential day-to-day management of patient care in psychiatric hospitals, clinics, and other treatment centers.
Techs get basic levels of training in principles of psychology and counseling. Their greatest skill, however, is often simply compassion. They implement care plans for individuals at all levels of disability and with every sort of psychiatric disorder. The overriding consideration is to provide the best possible treatment in line with diagnosed disorders and plans made by professional therapists.
Psych techs may be the first person that patients see as they begin their treatment and the last to see them off as they finish it. It’s a rewarding role that doesn’t require the intensive preparation and education to become a professional psychologist, yet maintains as much or even more actual client contact.
The essential psychiatric technician job duties boil down to observing, assisting, and guiding patients under their care.
They are relied on by psychologists and psychiatrists to be the eyes and ears on patients at all hours and in every detail of their behavior and status. That can include monitoring vital signs and watching for symptoms of both the diagnosed disorder and any side effects that are possible from prescribed medications.
They handle the daily operations regime at their facility, whether that’s providing client intake and briefings on procedures and treatment regimes, fielding questions that come, or overcoming mundane obstacles like difficulties with accomplishing essential personal maintenance and upkeep like bathing, changing bandages, or getting dressed. It also often involves scheduling and enforcing rules and discipline in the ward.
Because many facilities employing psychiatric technicians are 24/7 residential operations, shift work at all hours is often required.
Psychiatric techs are responsible for administering medications and putting into play other prescribed treatments for all kinds of psychiatric, behavioral, and psychological problems. This can range from group therapy and discussion to individual treatments such as CBT or conducting mindfulness exercises. They are also broadly responsible for developing a safe, supporting psycho-social environment for recovery for all their patients.
They also interact more informally with patients, playing games, watching shows, and just generally chatting and getting to know them and their circumstances.
Techs are responsible for coordinating both with one another and with other members of the patient care team. They have to be up to speed on issues like unit restrictions, behavioral issues, violence precautions, or emerging health problems a particular patient may be having.
They spend quite a lot of time doing documentation and creating reports on patient status and on therapy programs that were followed and what the responses were.
Meeting the Requirements To Become a Psychiatric Technician
There aren’t a lot of obstacles to a career as a psych tech. You don’t need an advanced degree, or any degree at all, necessarily. In many states and for many jobs, it isn’t necessarily a requirement if you have sufficient background in healthcare or behavioral medicine. A high-school degree is often the minimum listed education in psychiatric technician job requirements. Much of the training occurs on the job.
Many psychiatric technicians do have a certificate or an associate’s degree in psychology or a closely related behavioral health field, however. To effectively perform the work, you can use a specialized course of study in subjects like:
- Pharmacology
- Anatomy
- Basic Nursing Skills
- Developmental Disabilities
- Psychology and Behavioral Health
In states that require licensing for psychiatric technicians, you may need to complete a specialized certificate program that includes specific coursework required by law.
An associate’s degree broadens that course of study by adding more general coursework in liberal arts subjects like English, math, social sciences, and communications… all fields that help you develop your abilities to understand and manage a complex psychiatric environment.
An associate’s program is also a stepping stone on the way to earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, which in turn unlocks master’s and even doctoral degrees. So as a way to both get valuable ground-level experience in managing mental health treatment as well as getting a college education in the field, this can be a good path for your career.
How To Become a Licensed Psychiatric Technician
State rules for credentialing for psychiatric technicians are a bit of a hodge-podge. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 2023 around 72 percent of psychiatric technicians required some sort of credentialing. However, much of that apparently large number is accounted for by the fact that California, the most populous state, is also one that requires licensing.
Including California, there are only five states that actually have license requirements for psychiatric technicians. They have a variety of titles:
- Psychiatric Technician – California and Colorado
- Licensed Mental Health Technician – Kansas
- Certified Behavior Technician – Washington
- Licensed Psychological Technician – Alabama
Other states may include the job duties under other license categories. Arkansas, for example, previously had a Licensed Psychiatric Technician Nurse credential that covered most technician job duties but has since folded it into the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) credential.
Where they are required, licenses for psych techs often have fairly minimal qualifications such as:
- Graduating from a state-approved psych tech educational program or have equivalent education or experience
- Holding a current national certification such as the RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board
- Passing a state licensing exam
- Passing a criminal background check
Considering Professional Certification as a Psychiatric Technician
With a lack of generally established credentialing requirements from state-to-state for psychiatric technician jobs, getting a national professional certification in the field is one of the best ways to establish your skills and abilities.
The American Association of Psychiatric Technicians (AAPT) is a non-profit association that offers four different levels of certification for psych techs anywhere in the country.
At the most basic level, Certified Psychiatric Technician Level 1, this requires passing an open-book, 201-question multiple choice exam, plus holding a GED or high school diploma.
Higher levels of qualification demand both additional testing, in the form of an essay exam at each level, as well as higher levels of education and experience.
- Certified Psychiatric Technician Level 2 – Complete at least 480 hours of university coursework plus have at least one year experience in mental health or developmental disability treatment
- Certified Psychiatric Technician Level 3 – Complete at least 960 hours of university coursework plus have at least two years of experience in mental health or developmental disability treatment
- Certified Psychiatric Technician Level 4 – Hold a bachelor’s degree in a field related to mental health or developmental disabilities, plus have three years work experience in mental health
Although AAPT certification isn’t generally found as a requirement in psych tech job listings, it helps demonstrate your commitment to professionalism and excellence in treatment. Employers tend to reward techs who take the time to establish their qualifications.
You will also find various certifications in closely related fields, such as the RBT (as noted above, sometimes accepted for licensure qualifications), a Mental Health Technician Certification (MHTC) from AMCA, the American medical Certification Association, or the CMHT (Certified Mental Health Technician) certification from the National Career Certification Board. Particularly depending on the industry or type of facility that you plan to work in, any of these may be equally useful.
Where To Find Psychiatric Technician Jobs
Speaking of industries and facilities, you’ll find a surprising amount of diversity there for employers of psychiatric techs. While most people immediately envision mental hospitals and residential treatment facilities, psych techs also have plenty of work available at outpatient care centers, geriatric care centers, and even in home health.
According to BLS, the top industry of employment for psychiatric technicians, however, is in fact psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals.
The runners-up are:
- Offices of other health practitioners (usually private psychology or psychiatric practices)
- General medical and surgical hospitals
- Residential facilities for the treatment of substance abuse, developmental disability, mental health, and substance abuse
- Outpatient care centers (usually with similar treatment focus)
Job prospects across the board are pretty good for psychiatric technicians, with BLS forecasting a 13 percent growth rate between 2023 and 2033, much faster than the average.
Titles for these positions often vary according to industry and employer. While psychiatric technician itself is a common enough term, you’ll also find listings for positions called:
- Psychiatric Social Health Technician
- Behavioral Health Technician
- Patient Care Technician
- Behavior Technician
- Mental Health Technician
- Mental Health Assistance
- Residential Aide
In states where credentials are required, positions may be expressly listed as being for licensed psychiatric technician jobs.
What Is the Typical Psychiatric Technician Salary Rate?
The annual salary to be a psychiatric technician, of course, depends on many factors. One of the biggest is which of those industries you do actually end up working in. Each have their own profit margins, relative demand for services, and level of competition to contend with.
According to BLS data from 2023, the top five industries of employment for psych techs showed these salary levels:
- Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals $48,970
- Offices of mental health practitioners $41,610
- Outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers $37,670
- Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals; private $37,580
- Residential mental health and substance abuse facilities $36,640
Most of those industries beat the overall average annual salary for a psychiatric technician in the United States, which is $39,700. On the other hand, with extra education, experience, or professional qualifications, you can also eventually do better, with the top ten percent of the field earning over $59,990 annually.
Like other jobs, location is also a factor for psychiatric technician job salaries. Cost of living, market demand, training pipeline, and other factors can push compensation up or down. For 2023, these were the average rates in a number of major American cities:
- New York: $55,850
- Los Angeles: $56,80
- Chicago: $46,760
- Dallas: $40,870
- Miami: $42,120
- Saint Louis: $44,540
- Atlanta: $46,800
- Seattle: $51,720
While the nature of around-the-clock coverage can make the schedules for some of these positions challenging, work in the healthcare field often comes with benefits and insurance coverage to help make it worthwhile. Shift work also brings flexibility to positions that can be an advantage for individuals who are working their way through school or have other reasons a typical nine-to-five might not be a good fit.
Ultimately, you also have to consider that many psychiatric technicians simply love what they do as part of the appeal. It’s not a job that will make you rich… unless you count your wealth in goodwill and good deeds.
2023 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Psychiatric Technicians and Aides reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed January 2025.