A psychiatric technician works in a variety of settings, including mental health hospitals, long-term care facilities, addiction treatment centers, and jails, to assist people who are mentally or emotionally ill. These professionals can work in a variety of settings, depending on their employer, level of experience, and educational background. They could have any level of education, from a basic certificate and a high school diploma to a four-year degree and advanced certification. Interacting with patients and helping to provide some primary level care and assistance is one of the most important responsibilities in most settings, but other tasks include maintaining a watchful presence, contributing to treatment plans through assessment, and dispensing medications.
Many patients and those who have been incarcerated due to mental illness require assistance with basic care. Some of that basic care and hygiene support can be provided the psychiatric technician. They might help patients with grooming, bathing, or showering, or they might keep an eye on them while they use devices that aren’t usually allowed on a ward, like a hairdryer or a razor for shaving.
Patients require assistance not only when it comes to personal grooming. They must be watched at all times, and in many wards, the psychiatric technician is always present to keep an eye on them. This can aid in the reduction of troubling incidents as well as the identification of patients who appear to be having the most difficulty.
When a psychiatric tech notices a patient with more serious issues, he or she can approach him, talk to him, and assist him in finding solutions. Sometimes simply directing patients to pre-planned activities is sufficient, and other times, more assistance is required. Maintaining contact with patients is extremely beneficial and can make them feel safer.
Surveillance serves another purpose because many of the places where a psychiatric technician might work include facilities where people can become unpredictable violent or harmful to themselves. Patients can also be restrained technicians. If necessary, they can also remove patients from common areas if they are a threat or cannot be calmed.
Because psychiatric technicians have a high level of interaction with patients, many of them have important observations that can influence treatment. Technicians are important not only in carrying out treatment plans, but also in developing them. Occupational therapists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists, as well as those with more extensive training, are contributing members of the team that help decide how to best deliver care to individual patients, though they usually report to nurses.
A psychiatric technician’s other responsibilities may include medication administration, though this varies. This is something that nurses are sometimes in charge of. In most cases, technicians can administer emergency medication, such as antipsychotic injections or sedatives, to seriously disruptive patients.
Many tech jobs are full-time, and depending on the setting, they may require eight to twelve hours of work per day. Techs are needed around the clock in overnight hospitals or care facilities, so this job may require working night or swing shifts. Patience, a certain amount of physical strength, and mental stability are required for those entering this field.