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What does a Mental Health Technician do?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

A mental health technician is a person who has completed training, at minimum, to a certified nursing assistant level. They work with people who are mentally ill, recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, have mental disorders like cognitive impairment, or are in crisis of other sorts. Techs work in a variety of venues that can include long-term care facilities, psychiatric hospitals, addiction treatment facilities, standard hospitals, nursing homes and possibly schools for people with impairment. They may also be called psychiatric techs, mental health aides, or psychiatric aides.

Generally, the mental health tech is part of a team that can include doctors, therapists, psychiatrists, and nurses. In many hospitals, techs often directly answer to nurses. They may also report to other members of the health care team, especially to allied health professionals like occupational or standard therapists.

A mental health technician may specialize in caring for people with special needs.
A mental health technician may specialize in caring for people with special needs.

Much of the work of many mental health technician jobs involves direct patient care. This might mean helping patients with self-care, like grooming or bathing, or helping a patient get settled in a hospital by inspecting their items for anything dangerous, and helping them make up a bed and put away their things. It also often means that the technician is watching, observing and interacting with patients regularly. These observations are very important, because they form a part of how care is determined for each patient, and they help to keep patients safe, especially those at high risk for harmful behavior to self or to others. It is sometimes necessary for a mental health technician, especially in a psychiatric hospital, to subdue patients that become upset or potentially harmful, and watchfulness is key to being certain that this occurs quickly so patients don’t harm themselves or others.

Mental health technicians may find work in nursing homes assisting patients with with self-care, like grooming or bathing.
Mental health technicians may find work in nursing homes assisting patients with with self-care, like grooming or bathing.

Other work that a mental health tech can perform includes many types of detail-oriented jobs. Techs might be in charge of admitting patients, taking phone calls, staffing a main desk, or helping to keep records. In some cases, they may administer medication or help nurses to do so. They may also work with patients in designated groups to do certain types of activities. These could include things like art, exercise, or therapy. Alternately, they may take part in these groups and assist those that are running them by remaining vigilant and simply lending an extra hand to the person running the group and patients participating in it.

Much of the work of many mental health technicians involves direct patient care.
Much of the work of many mental health technicians involves direct patient care.

Mental health technician jobs are often physically challenging jobs and require hours of “on the feet” work. The majority of jobs in this field are full time, and since many of the facilities at which a tech might work are open all of the time, techs may expect to work weekends and holidays, at least on occasion. Many of the venues in which techs work are also open 24 hours a day, so people may be required to work various shifts. Length of the average day may be 8-12 hours depending upon how shifts are organized.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent PracticalAdultInsights contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent PracticalAdultInsights contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon345885

How much do MHT's make?

anon333887

Is it hard to become an MHT? Just a random thought.

anon247874

Mental health techs are not always trained to the "level" of a CNA. We are not CNAs. Our training is often very different. A CNA off of a medical floor could not do our job, nor we theirs.

Sara84

Can I get mental health technician training on the job, or do I have to go to classes at a college?

meandcoffee

My wife is an ER nurse and is thinking about transferring to the hospital's mental health unit. As a mental health nurse, she would get to work one-on-one with the mental health patients.

She knows it will be a job that will make her tired, and she will be working with the whole mental health team, along with the technicians. She says it really takes everyone on the team for a mental health unit to run like it should.

She is ready for a big change and going to the mental health unit will definitely do that. She will be working long nights, but it will be worth it.

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    • A mental health technician may specialize in caring for people with special needs.
      By: Jaren Wicklund
      A mental health technician may specialize in caring for people with special needs.
    • Mental health technicians may find work in nursing homes assisting patients with with self-care, like grooming or bathing.
      By: Sandor Kacso
      Mental health technicians may find work in nursing homes assisting patients with with self-care, like grooming or bathing.
    • Much of the work of many mental health technicians involves direct patient care.
      By: michaeljung
      Much of the work of many mental health technicians involves direct patient care.
    • Nurses may work with geriatric patients who have failing mental health.
      By: Sandor Kacso
      Nurses may work with geriatric patients who have failing mental health.
    • A mental health technician is an important part of the health care team for a patient who has psychological or cognitive issues.
      By: Andres Rodriguez
      A mental health technician is an important part of the health care team for a patient who has psychological or cognitive issues.