Will AI replace Psychiatric Technicians?
AI reaches some of this job’s work, but most of it stays with people.
32/100
Moderate exposure
More exposed to AI than 50% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 49% of the work
What the job involves
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.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(8)
- Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
- 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.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.
and 3 more
Out of reach(8)
- Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
- Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
- Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
- Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.
- Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.
and 3 more
Also called
BHT (Behavioral Health Technician) · Mental Health Technician (MHT) · BHT · MHT · Psychiatric Technician (PT) · PT · MHW (Mental Health Worker) · Counselor
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics