Psychiatric Technicians and Aides

Psychiatric Technicians and Aides typically perform the following tasks: • Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. • Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships. • Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required. • Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures. • Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff. • Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges. • Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them. • Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean. • Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community. • Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence. • Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients. • Escort patients to medical appointments. • Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures. • Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures. • Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history. • Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences.