Psychiatric Technicians
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.
Most important skills
- Social Perceptiveness
- Active Listening
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Coordination
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Service Orientation
Key knowledge
- Psychology
- Therapy and Counseling
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
What the work involves
- Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
- Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
- Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
- 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.
- Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.
- Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Some College Courses (40.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (41.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (33%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Psychiatric Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 75% of occupations compared | 74% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 94% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 63% of occupations compared | 77% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 78% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Low | Lower on time pressure than 79% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 97% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very high | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 98% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 61% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: low
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very high
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 2.84%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.64%
- Contact with others most of the time: 22.16%
- Constant contact with others: 74.37%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 34.83%
- Fairly important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Important: 19.69%
- Very important: 3.43%
- Extremely important: 1.52%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 15.82%
- Important: 3.46%
- Very important: 3.75%
- Extremely important: 76.97%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 2.75%
- Limited freedom: 22.23%
- Some freedom: 71.37%
- A lot of freedom: 3.65%
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 5.22%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.86%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.58%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 21.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 25.13%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0.6%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.66%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.85%
- Once a week or more but not every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: 1.19%
- Serious: 3.97%
- Very serious: 1.27%
- Extremely serious: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 22, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 29-2053.00 · SOC 29-2053 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8