Also called: Mental Health Technician
Cares for patients in psychiatric hospitals — monitoring, de-escalating, and helping with daily routines.
On a hospital unit, checks on patients every 15 minutes, leads a coping-skills group, and helps calm a patient who is panicking. Records vital signs and behavior for the nurses.
Certificate, about 1 year after high school. High school plus on-the-job training; some states require a psych tech certificate or license.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification, 2-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Psychiatric Technology, Psychology.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. AI may help with charting, but checking on patients and calming a crisis on a hospital unit stays hands-on.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to psychiatric hospitals for mental health tech openings; they train in de-escalation First: CPR and de-escalation training (California requires a year-long license)
Classes: Health science CTE, Psychology, Health.
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-2053.
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