Psychiatric Technicians
Also called: Mental Health Associate, Mental Health Technician (MHT), MHW (Mental Health Worker), Psychiatric Technician (PT)Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. May participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral or injectable medications.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 8 of its 16 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 22.3% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.8% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 5.0 hires for every 10 job openings in health care and social assistance, which employs about 91% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.5.0 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $36,680 | $31,030 to $38,540 | 3,290 |
| Alaska | $51,650 | $49,130 to $66,310 | 340 |
| Arizona | $45,640 | $39,550 to $47,950 | 8,160 |
| Arkansas | $35,930 | $31,270 to $37,740 | 1,900 |
| California | $49,140 | $46,620 to $74,390 | 14,100 |
| Colorado | $47,430 | $43,130 to $51,590 | 1,740 |
| Connecticut | $55,500 | $48,050 to $70,000 | 1,040 |
| Delaware | $38,410 | $37,210 to $44,060 | 350 |
| District of Columbia | $67,430 | $47,880 to $78,460 | 380 |
| Florida | $43,570 | $37,670 to $50,160 | 12,710 |
| Georgia | $46,250 | $41,320 to $50,680 | 5,560 |
| Hawaii | $55,150 | $50,400 to $59,870 | 2,060 |
| Idaho | $41,490 | $40,040 to $45,490 | 780 |
| Illinois | $46,200 | $39,600 to $50,820 | 9,410 |
| Indiana | $40,910 | $37,940 to $46,550 | 6,790 |
| Iowa | $42,910 | $37,440 to $44,630 | 690 |
| Kansas | $43,780 | $38,550 to $45,300 | 1,670 |
| Kentucky | $40,370 | $36,400 to $47,880 | 910 |
| Louisiana | $31,440 | $29,700 to $35,200 | 2,420 |
| Maine | $45,320 | $44,060 to $48,640 | 620 |
| Maryland | $45,520 | $34,810 to $51,580 | 680 |
| Massachusetts | $52,000 | $46,780 to $59,610 | 5,340 |
| Michigan | $43,140 | $37,550 to $52,000 | 4,850 |
| Minnesota | $40,300 | $38,130 to $51,490 | 3,550 |
| Mississippi | $35,320 | $30,760 to $39,210 | 930 |
| Missouri | $45,840 | $37,840 to $47,180 | 4,450 |
| Montana | $39,190 | $35,030 to $50,030 | 310 |
| Nebraska | $57,370 | $45,570 to $61,650 | 1,390 |
| Nevada | $46,450 | $43,930 to $47,870 | 2,060 |
| New Hampshire | $44,660 | $44,650 to $50,260 | 260 |
| New Jersey | $54,040 | $46,580 to $60,610 | 2,520 |
| New Mexico | $39,020 | $36,870 to $47,990 | 660 |
| New York | $58,080 | $46,630 to $72,500 | 2,040 |
| North Carolina | $40,630 | $37,560 to $45,880 | 5,950 |
| North Dakota | $39,960 | $39,310 to $46,560 | 270 |
| Ohio | $39,140 | $36,510 to $46,540 | 3,950 |
| Oklahoma | $39,060 | $36,190 to $44,650 | 820 |
| Oregon | $59,820 | $46,290 to $66,840 | 1,250 |
| Pennsylvania | $43,930 | $39,320 to $47,740 | 10,340 |
| Rhode Island | $48,520 | $45,130 to $51,650 | 990 |
| South Carolina | $40,970 | $39,980 to $46,730 | 560 |
| Tennessee | $39,800 | $35,410 to $48,320 | 3,810 |
| Texas | $39,970 | $36,960 to $45,560 | 11,350 |
| Utah | $40,770 | $38,540 to $45,710 | 1,940 |
| Vermont | $47,560 | $45,520 to $50,110 | 600 |
| Virginia | $48,320 | $40,790 to $51,580 | 3,950 |
| Washington | $52,470 | $46,360 to $61,990 | 1,920 |
| West Virginia | $34,100 | $31,390 to $35,580 | 770 |
| Wisconsin | $40,290 | $35,040 to $51,970 | 4,430 |
Nationally: $45,130. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 8 of its 16 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff. | Not published |
| Not much | Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | 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. | Not published |
| AI alone | Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required. | Not published |
See all 16 tasks
| Not much | Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients. | Not published |
| Not much | Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean. | Not published |
| AI + software | Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities. | Not published |
| Not much | Escort patients to medical appointments. | Not published |
| AI alone | Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| AI + software | Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures. | Not published |
| Not much | Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history. | Not published |
| AI alone | Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 3 of the 16 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 16 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #30 Perform administrative or clerical activities
- #46 Provide support or encouragement to others
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provide support or encouragement to others | |||
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Administer therapeutic treatments | |||
| Train others on health or medical topics | |||
| Confer with healthcare or other professionals about patient care | |||
| Maintain health or medical records | |||
| Assist healthcare practitioners during medical procedures | |||
| Perform administrative or clerical activities |
Show all 15 activities
| Collect information about patients or clients | |||
| Administer basic health care or medical treatments | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Assist individuals with special needs | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products | |||
| Operate medical equipment | |||
| Transport patients or clients |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An email or message14%
- Advice or a recommendation14%
- An explanation or answer14%
- Teaching material7%
- A plan or strategy6%
How they worked with Claude
15% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for psychiatric technicians specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 34,519 moves out
- 1 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 7%
- 2 Mental Health Counselors 5%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 4%
- 5 Nursing Assistants Low +2.6% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 28,344 moves in
- 1 Nursing Assistants Low +2.6% 6%
- 2 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 5%
- 3 Mental Health Counselors 5%
- 4 Registered Nurses High +5.6% 4%
- 5 Residential Advisors High +3.5% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 20% high school
- 5% postsecondary certificate
- 3% associate's
- 2% master's
- 70% not published
O*NET marks 70% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 26 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 18% high school
- 29% some college
- 11% associate's
- 29% bachelor's
- 8% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 1,494 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
1 program: Psychiatric/Mental Health Services Technician.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
82.7% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | 11.8% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | 14.1% | 2.8% |
| a license | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 3 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (Behavioral Health Aide; COUNSELOR; Psychiatric Technician (NOF)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Psychiatric Technicians” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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