Psychiatric Aides
Health ScienceO*NET 31-1133.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $44,898
- Projected change
- +1.2%
- Typical education
- Some college
- Employment
- 41.24K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
45.7% of the workforce
Growing to 41.72K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What psychiatric aides do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Maintain patients' restrictions to assigned areas.
- Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.
- Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
- Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routines.
- Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
- Complete administrative tasks, such as entering orders into computer, answering telephone calls, or maintaining medical or facility information.
- Clean and disinfect rooms and furnishings to maintain a safe and orderly environment.
- Accompany patients to and from wards for medical or dental treatments, shopping trips, or religious or recreational events.
- Participate in recreational activities with patients, including card games, sports, or television viewing.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $32,077
- 25th percentile
- $37,738
- 50th percentile
- $44,898
- 75th percentile
- $49,944
- 90th percentile
- $60,518
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $44,898 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+1.2%average or slower
202541,239 jobs
2035 projected41,718 jobs
479 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Some college
- 45.7%
- High school diploma or less
- 24.2%
- Certificate
- 16.5%
- Associate degree
- 9.6%
- Bachelor's degree
- 4.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Behavior Assistants2,428 postings
- 02Behavioral Health Associates1,380 postings
- 03School Aides1,180 postings
- 04Mental Health Associates1,021 postings
- 05Board Certified Behavior Analysts933 postings
- 06Mental Health Workers929 postings
- 07Behavioral Health Assistants669 postings
- 08Behavior Interventionists503 postings
- 09Behavioral Health Specialists496 postings
- 10Behavior Specialists465 postings
- 11Behavioral Health Consultants464 postings
- 12Behavioral Aides443 postings
- 13Registered Behavior Technicians420 postings
- 14Classroom Aides376 postings
- 15Mental Health Assistants346 postings
- 16Behavior Support Assistants339 postings
- 17Behavioral Assistants310 postings
- 18Behavior Aides295 postings
- 19Psychiatric/Mental Health Physicians291 postings
- 20Support Professionals290 postings
Top employers
- 01Positive Behavior Supports Corp.2,084 postings
- 02Amergis1,576 postings
- 03HeartlandABA1,101 postings
- 04Acadia Healthcare292 postings
- 05Ro Health265 postings
- 06Anne Arundel County Public Schools255 postings
- 07Soliant Health236 postings
- 08Edjoin.Org211 postings
- 09Maxim Healthcare Services190 postings
- 10Zen Educate190 postings
- 11ABA360187 postings
- 12Specialized Education Services, Inc. (Sesi)182 postings
- 13Uhs166 postings
- 14Kaiser Permanente128 postings
- 15Comprehensive Behavior Supports126 postings
- 16Aya Healthcare113 postings
- 17Baylor Scott & White Health106 postings
- 18Universal Health Services103 postings
- 19Soar Autism Center98 postings
- 20Mercy87 postings
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