Mental Health Technician Job Description, Duties, and Responsibilities

This post presents detailed information on the mental health technician job description, including the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities they commonly perform.

It also highlights the major requirements that you may be expected to meet to be hired for the mental health technician role.

What Does a Mental Health Technician Do?

Mental health technicians, also known as psychiatric assistants carry out their duties and responsibilities in supporting role to psychiatrists.

The mental health technician job description entails taking care of mentally ill or emotionally distressed patients under the guidance of professionals like psychiatrists or medical doctors.

Mental health technicians help in the coordination of mental health care services, help in the assessment of patients, monitoring of patients, documenting patients care, assisting patients to bath or use the toilet, and also help to identify the special needs of patients.

They are the right-hand persons to psychiatric or medical doctors in the sense that they provide these professionals with the right information they need after observing patients for some period of time.

What they observe in patients include the patients’ mood, mental alertness, sleeping patterns, how they eat, and sudden change in behavioral patterns, etc.

This information helps the psychiatrist or the medical personnel handling the case to be able to diagnose, treat and monitor patients’ medications.

The mental health technician work description also involves looking at the severity of each patient’s condition, and depending on what they see, they are able to assist patients in taking their baths, dress up, and feed, and also help in their general grooming.

Mental health technicians work in a team of professionals that comprises registered nurses, therapists, social workers, and psychiatrists.

They all brainstorm when it is time to plan and implement a patient’s treatment. The technicians are complete caregivers to mentally ill persons in all ramifications.

Mental Health Technicians Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Mental health technicians perform various functions in providing quality support to psychiatrists or other medical professionals in effectively treating mentally ill patients.

Their job description commonly consists of the following duties, obligations, tasks, and responsibilities:

• Provide care and guidance to mentally ill and emotionally imbalanced patients
• Assist the psychiatrist in delivering treatment to patients
• Assist in administering medication to patients
• Plan, implement, evaluate, and monitor patients’ treatments
• Help to educate patients and their families
• Perform administrative duties like recording and keeping medical records of all patients
• Help to interview or interrogate people admitted into the psychiatric facilities
• Report changes in patients’ behaviors to the medical team
• Ensure the coordination of all related mental health services
• Help patients with personal hygiene
• Assist patients in their daily activities
• Assist with patients’ therapeutic activities
• Ensure the safety of all assigned patients
• Responsible for the maintenance of the psychiatric unit in a mental health facility
• Report to a registered nurse or a supervisor
• Assist the facility cook to prepare meals for patients.

Mental Health Technician Requirements – Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge for Success on the Job

If you are seeking to work as a mental health technician, be aware that employers will expect you to possess certain qualities, abilities, skills, experience, educational qualifications, trainings completed, etc., that they believe will enable you to be effective in performing the obligations, purpose, and objectives of the role.

Here are major requirements you may need to fulfill to gain the position of mental health technician at most medical facilities:

• Higher school diploma or associate degree in mental health technology
• 3-year cognate experience
• Excellent and strong interpersonal skills
• Possession of great communication skills in both oral and written forms
• Must be a very patient person
• Must be mentally and emotionally strong
• Should be able to demonstrate strong teamwork skills
• Strong ability to pay attention to detail
• Should be able to exemplify sound psychological skills
• Must be able to exemplify a high level of positive attitude all the time
• Should be able to demonstrate a great level of social skills
• Good relationship and administrative skills
• Should be in excellent physical condition
• Remarkable observing skills to pick out changes in patients’ behaviors
• Ability to work independently and also work harmoniously as a part of a team
• Ability to work under intense pressure and in demanding situations
• Must possess excellent grooming skills
• Possess excellent psychological skills
• Excellent relationship skills and problem-solving abilities.

Conclusion

If you are a recruiter, HR Manager or employer needing to hire for the position of mental health technician in your organization and need to make a good description of the role, the information in this post, including the sample job description will be helpful to you in writing it.

By making and publishing a detailed description of the available mental health technician job in your organization, you will be able to attract the best qualified candidates to your offer.

This article will also be useful to individuals interested in starting a career in the mental health field.

They will be able to increase their knowledge of what mental health technicians do, which can guide them in making the best decisions concerning their career.