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Psychiatric Aides

In the Psychiatric Aides occupation, workers assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. O*NET rates it as some preparation, which usually means a few months to a year of learning on the job. It leans on speaking, social perceptiveness, and service orientation. You may also need to listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients. With a code of SIC, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Investigative interests also help, rated 4.0 out of 7. If you want helping, teaching or caring for people, keep it on your list. If you need leading, persuading and making business decisions, it may feel thin.

What they do

Assist mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed patients, working under direction of nursing and medical staff. May assist with daily living activities, lead patients in educational and recreational activities, or accompany patients to and from examinations and treatments. May restrain violent patients. Includes psychiatric orderlies.

Main tasks

  • Listen and provide emotional support and encouragement to psychiatric patients.
  • Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
  • Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
  • Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
  • Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
  • Record and maintain patient information, such as vital signs, eating habits, behavior, progress notes, treatments, or discharge plans.

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Service Orientation
  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You get energy from helping other people move forward.
  • You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
  • You want to start work after a short stretch of training.
  • You are comfortable relying on speaking and social perceptiveness.

May not suit you if

  • You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
  • You want to lead people or run the business side. Enterprising rates 1.7 out of 7 here.
  • You want a career built on years of advanced study.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SIC takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.

Preparation

Some preparation. Most people start with a high school diploma, then learn from experienced coworkers over a few months to a year.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Some College Courses. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Developmental Aide
  • Mental Health Aide (MHA)
  • Mental Health Worker (MHW)
  • Psychiatric Aide
  • Psychiatric Assistant

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.