Medical Training

A Psychiatric Technician (PT) deals with people who are emotionally or developmentally disabled. The PT utilises systematic, practical and manual skills to diagnose and cure the patients suffering from mental and developmental disorders.

The Psychiatric Technician Program introduces students to general psychology field, stressing on the applications and the theories utilised in different medical settings. This course offers training to the technicians in order to understand the behaviour patterns of the patients. These technicians study and practise a wide range of topics dealing with personality, intelligence, thinking capacities, understanding abilities, behaviour patterns and perception of various issues.

Psychiatric Technician Program offers a course on Pharmacology which teaches the technicians about the administering and prescribing of medications safely to the patients. This covers administering the correct dosages, common prescribed drugs, sources used to treat the mentally ill patients, various therapies involved etc.

Psychiatric Technician Training helps to implement behavioural management techniques, crisis solution, individual and group therapy sessions and also in maintaining nursing and hygiene care among patients. Some of the basic principles covered in this training program deal with genetic variations, chromosomal mutations, and mental retardation.

Common duties and activities of Psychiatric Technicians:
•    Assisting and supporting plans developed by well known psychiatrists to deal with patients.
•    Offering consultation to the patients and their families for the choice of the treatment and the various options available for individual or group therapy.
•    Regularly monitoring a patient’s health and medical chart and keeping track of the dosage and its administration pattern.
•    Researching and maintaining up to date records of new medications and treatments available.
•    Reporting and filing of issues and concerns related to the medication or mental health of the patient.

Psychiatric Technician School and career options:
•    The duration of this course is about 14 months and the admission criterion requires a student to be 18 years old or above with a graduation from school.
•     The student must pay the fees prior to the enrolment to this course as per the fee structure devised by the institute.
•    The students have to appear for an Ability to Benefit test, with a score of 19 at least before applying for admission.
•    The student might be called for an interview with the program director.

This career requires the technicians to be dependable, reliable, honest and ethical since it requires a lot of patience to deal with mentally ill patients. The career options after completion of the Psychiatric Technician Training are fabulous, as there is a shortage of trained technicians in various countries like Spain, US, UK etc. With the growing demand in public sector this career helps you find employment in hospitals, health care facilities, day treatment centres, prisons health units etc.

The history of the profession of psychiatric technician in the United States had a modest beginning in the 19th century. At that time, mentally ill patients were cared for by attendants, who were trained to meet only the basic needs of the patient. Patient ailments included autism, cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

The names of the institutions were reflective of the manner in which psychiatric patients were perceived and treated. In California, the institutions were entitled, The Great Asylum for the Insane (1885), the State Hospital for the Insane and Inebriates (1893), and the Home for the Care and Training of Feeble Minded Children (1895).

The next milestone came after World War II. The introduction of modern techniques involving neurosurgery, electric shock therapy and lobotomy necessitated attendant personnel with improved aptitudes. However, no dramatic changes took place in their inherent qualifications though they were called psychiatric technicians.

A major change took place in 1950 with the formation of the California Society of Psychiatric Technicians (CSPT). The psychiatric technician became an integral part of the multidisciplinary team, the job classification was standardized, and the requirements for entry level psychiatric technicians were formalized.

In 1959 a certification regimen was set up for Psychiatric Technicians in both the private and governmental sectors. By 1970 licensing requirements were defined. Currently the states of California, Colorado, Kansas and Arkansas license Psychiatric Technicians.

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