Occupation Summary

Psychiatric Technicians

O*NET 29-2053.00

Description:

Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. May participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral or injectable medications.

Annual Wages:
$40,110.00
Employment Rate:
Employment is expected to increase by 17.25%.
Education Level:
Some College Courses. According to O*Net, the majority of people employed in this occupation have this level of education.
Endorsement:
Public Service, Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM)

  1. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
  2. Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
  3. Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
  4. Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
  5. Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
  6. Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.
  7. Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.
  8. Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
  9. Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.
  10. Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
  11. Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.
  12. Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history.
  13. Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
  14. Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences.
  15. Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.
  16. Escort patients to medical appointments.


National Industry Employment Patterns


Industry % of Psychiatric Technicians employed Annual Growth Rate
Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals 30.7 0.65
Offices of other health practitioners 14.5 1.79
General medical and surgical hospitals 14 0.33
Residential mental health facilities 10.4 0.95
Outpatient care centers 8.6 1.88
Individual and family services 4.6 1.70


Labor Market Information


2024 Statewide average hourly wage $19.28
2024 National average hourly wage $21.64
2022 National employment 107,100
2022 Texas employment 6,863
Texas projected employment by 2032 8,047
Texas projected annual employment and Turnover openings through 2032 724




TEXAS COUNTY MAP BY WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AREA
* Due to confidentiality rules, not all regions may have the data displayed. The sum of all the regions may not be equal to the state total.


Top 10 Relevant Knowledge Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
84.00%
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
81.60%
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
81.40%
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
79.20%
Medicine and Dentistry
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
74.00%
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
71.00%
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
70.60%
Law and Government
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
64.60%
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
63.40%
Sociology and Anthropology
Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
61.80%


Top 10 Relevant Skill Areas Relevant Importance Levels
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
82.40%
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
80.00%
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
80.00%
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
77.60%
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
77.60%
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
75.00%
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
72.40%
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
72.40%
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
65.00%
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
65.00%


Top 10 Relevant Abilities Relevant Importance Levels
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
80.00%
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
80.00%
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
80.00%
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
75.00%
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
72.40%
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
72.40%
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
70.00%
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
70.00%
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
70.00%
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
67.60%


  • Assisting and Caring for Others
    -- Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    -- Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
    -- Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    -- Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Getting Information
    -- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Other Activities


  • Relationships
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
  • Support
    - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.



Tools

Blood collection syringes: Blood drawing syringes;

Blood pressure cuff kits: Blood pressure cuffs;

Crutches: Crutches;

Desktop computers: Desktop computers;

Electronic medical thermometers: Electronic patient thermometers;

Emergency or resuscitation carts: Emergency carts;

Enema kits: Enema equipment;

Glucose monitors or meters: Glucometers;

Gurneys or scissor lifts: Gurneys;

Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB machines: Intermittent positive pressure breathing IPPB devices;

Lancets: Lancets;

Medical acoustic stethoscopes: Mechanical stethoscopes;

Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances: Suction machines;

Medical syringes with needle: Hypodermic syringes;

Nasogastric tubes: Nasogastric tubes;

Nebulizers: Nebulizers;

Notebook computers: Notebook computers;

Orthopedic traction hardware or weights: Traction equipment;

Oxygen therapy delivery system products: Oxygen administration equipment; Oxygen carts;

Patient care beds for general use: Hospital beds;

Patient stabilization or fall prevention devices: Patient restraints;

Personal computers: Personal computers;

Protective gloves: Safety gloves;

Pulse oximeter units: Oximeters;

Resuscitation masks: Bag valve mask BVM resuscitators;

Spill kits: Hazardous material spill kits;

Surgical isolation or surgical masks: Surgical masks;

Tablet computers: Tablet computers;

Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs: Cold therapy equipment; Heat therapy equipment;

Tuberculin syringes: Tuberculin TB skin test equipment;

Urinary catheterization kits: Urinary catheters;

Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers: Evacuated blood collection tubes;

Wheelchairs: Wheelchairs;


Technology

Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook;

Inventory management software: InfoLogix HealthTrax Engine;

Medical software: MEDITECH Behavioral Health Clinicals; ADL Data Systems OptimumClinicals Electronic Health Record; Allscripts Sunrise; Cerner ProFile; Epic EpicCare Inpatient Clinical System; GE Healthcare Centricity EMR; ICANotes; Netsmart Technologies Avatar Clinical Workstation CWS;

Office suite software: Microsoft Office software;

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel;

Word processing software: Microsoft Word;


Related O*NET occupational titles for Psychiatric Technicians include:
  • 29-1141.01 Acute Care Nurses
  • 31-1121.00 Home Health Aides
  • 31-2012.00 Occupational Therapy Aides
  • 31-2011.00 Occupational Therapy Assistants
  • 29-2043.00 Paramedics
  • 31-2022.00 Physical Therapist Aides
  • 31-2021.00 Physical Therapist Assistants
  • 31-1133.00 Psychiatric Aides
  • 29-1125.00 Recreational Therapists
  • 29-1141.00 Registered Nurses


Sources of Additional Information
  • For more information about psychiatric technicians and aides, visit: American Association of Psychiatric Technicians
  • Psychiatric Aides
  • Psychiatric Technicians

  • Contact Texas Workforce Commission
    Labor Market and Career Information  |  101 E. 15th Street, Annex Room 0252  |  Austin, Texas 78778
    Official Website  |  1-800-822-PLAN (7526)  |  512.936.3200

    ** The information in this report may be derived from many sources like O*NET, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), OOH (Occupational Outlook Handbook), and Career One Stop.