Psychiatric Technicians: Making a Difference
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Overview
Licensed Psychiatric Technicians are in the forefront of care and
treatment of Californians with mental illnesses or developmental disabilities.
These specialized mental health professionals have been a unique component of
the state's healthcare system since the 1950s. Psychiatric Technicians
are active members of interdisciplinary teams and an integral part of the
quality assurance process.
The Psychiatric Technician is a nursing category parallel to Licensed
Vocational Nurse (California's term for Licensed Practical Nurse). Psychiatric
Technician skills focus on mental illnesses and developmental disabilities,
while Licensed Vocational Nurses have an emphasis on
maternity and pediatric nursing.
As multi-talented mental health professionals with a broad range of
skills and expertise, Psychiatric Technicians are key players in the many and
varied aspects of California's system of treating those with mental illness or
developmental disabilities. It is a profession that attracts those who truly
want to help improve the quality of life for some of the most vulnerable individuals
in today's society.
Check out our broad and unique scope of practice.
Education and Training
The Psychiatric Technician educational program consists of at least
1,530 hours of classroom instruction in accredited schools plus hands-on
clinical experience in state or community facilities under the direct
supervision of an experienced instructor.
The curriculum is approximately one-third nursing and two-thirds
behavioral science. The curriculum is regularly updated so the skills that are
taught match the needs in the current practice settings.
Educational Requirements
Section 2575 of the California Code of Regulations requires that
accredited Psychiatric Technician education programs must include at least 576
hours of theory and 954 hours of supervised clinical experience. Below are the
minimum number of hours required in specific areas.
Instructional
area |
Classroom
theory
hours |
Supervised
clinical
hours |
| Nursing science |
126 |
270 |
| Mental disorders |
108 |
270 |
| Developmental disabilities |
108 |
270 |
| Pharmacology |
54 |
0 |
| Additional hours |
180 |
144 |
Curriculum Content
Section 2587 of the California Code of Regulations
spells out the specific curriculum content requirements as follows:
(a) Psychiatric technician programs shall include theory and correlated
clinical experience.
(b) The curriculum shall develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities
necessary to care for patients of all ages in current health care settings.
(c) The curriculum content shall be taught in a sequence that results in
students' progressive mastery of knowledge, skills, and abilities.
(d) The curriculum content shall include:
(1) Anatomy
and physiology |
|
|
| (2) Nutrition |
|
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| (3) Psychology |
|
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(4) Normal growth
and development |
|
|
| (5) Nursing process |
|
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| (6) Communication |
|
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| (7) Nursing science.......... |
which shall include ....... |
(A) Nursing fundamentals |
| |
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(B) Medical/surgical nursing |
| |
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(C) Communicable diseases, which shall include but not
be limited to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) |
| |
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(D) Gerontological nursing |
| (8) Patient education |
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| (9) Pharmacology .......... |
which shall include....... |
(A) Knowledge of commonly used drugs and their
actions |
| |
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(B) Computation of dosages |
| |
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(C) Preparation of medications |
| |
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(D) Principles of administration |
| (10) Classifications, treatment programs and
interventions for developmental disabilities |
|
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| (11) Classifications, treatment programs and
interventions for mental disorders, which shall include addictive behaviors and
eating disorders. |
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| (12) Leadership |
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| (13) Supervision |
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Continuing Education
To help keep Psychiatric Technicians current with recent advances in
their field, they must complete 30 hours of continuing education courses every
two years in order to renew their licenses.
State licensure
California Psychiatric Technicians are licensed by the Board of
Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT), which is a part of the
state Department of Consumer Affairs. The Board maintains an enforcement
function to safeguard the consumer's right to skilled, competent treatment.
To supplement to the state licensing process, the California
Association of Psychiatric Technicians maintains the Psychiatric Technician
Standards of Practice and Code of
Ethics.
Salaries
Because of their focused training, Psychiatric Technicians are among the
most cost-effective mental health and developmental care providers.
The targeted training and moderate salaries of Psychiatric Technicians
make them a particularly cost-effective resource as an option to Registered
Nurses, Social Workers and other higher-paid licensed professionals.
History
The Psychiatric Technician profession has its roots in the old job of
hospital "attendant." The profession came into its own in the 1950's as
advancements were made in treatment of the mentally ill and mentally retarded
in both the private and public sectors. In order to provide a system to assure
competence in practice, the state began "certifying" Psychiatric Technicians in
1959. Ten years later, the Psychiatric Technician Law was enacted, elevating
the profession to full licensure like that required for other health care
disciplines. Elsewhere on this website is a comprehensive history article.
Psychiatric Technician Skills
- Basic nursing
- Communication skills
- Medication administration
- Documentation
- Patient assessment
- Therapeutic activities
- Treatment plan development
- Addictive disorders
- Treatment plan implementation
- Group process
- Treatment evaluation
- Patient / family education
- Case management
- Geriatric care
Psychiatric Technicians are active members of interdisciplinary teams
and an integral part of the quality assurance process.
Practice settings
Psychiatric Technicians are specially trained in two areas that have a
tremendous unmet need -- treatment programs for the mentally ill and
developmentally disabled. As of June 2008, there were approximately 14,000
licensed Psychiatric Technicians in California. They are employed in facilities
operated by private providers, hospital districts, counties, cities or the
state Psychiatric Technicians are well positioned to move into new settings as
they develop. Following are settings in which they now work:
- Residential treatment programs
- Psychiatric treatment facilities
- Acute psychiatric units
- Institutes for mental disease
- Psychiatric emergency teams
- State developmental centers
- Long-term care facilities
- Substance abuse programs
- Home health care
- State hospitals
- State prisons
- Youth facilities
- Intermediate care facilities
- Psychiatric health facilities
- County jails
- Social rehabilitation facilities
- Adult residential facilities
- Secured geriatric facilities
- Day treatment programs
- Outpatient mental health clinics
- Psychiatric assessment centers
- Psychiatric crisis units
- Mobile psychiatric emergency teams
- Special school programs
- Residential care homes
- Partial hospitalization programs
Treating Developmental Disabilities
Clients with developmental disabilities comprise one of the two
categories of individuals receiving treatment from Psychiatric Technicians.
There are more than 100,000 Californians in this category, including those with
severe mental retardation, cerebral palsy, autism, severe behavior disorders,
birth defects from abuse of alcohol or drugs during pregnancy, and brain
injuries from near-drowning. Psychiatric Technicians provide considerable basic
nursing care, and also implement the "individual habilitation plans" for
teaching clients to function at their maximum potential.
Changes in the DD System
California's system for serving the developmentally disabled is
undergoing change. There is a nationwide trend away from institutional care and
into community-based care in the "least restrictive environment." These are
much smaller settings, including group homes, foster homes and even individuals
residing in "supported living" arrangements in their own apartments and homes.
As California expands this new system for the developmentally disabled, there
will be new avenues of opportunity for Psychiatric Technicians in the continuum
of care for the developmentally disabled.
Treating Mental Illness
The other category of individuals treated by Psychiatric Technicians are
those with serious mental illnesses. They are treated in programs run by
private facilities, by cities and counties, and by the state. In state programs
for the mentally ill, Psychiatric Technicians work in the five state hospitals.
About half of the state hospital patients are in the "forensic" category,
meaning they are admitted through the criminal justice system. The other state
hospital patients are "LPS" patients committed by counties under the
Lanterman-Petris-Short Act because they pose a serious, immediate danger to
themselves or others.
The Mental Health 'Realignment'
In 1991, California's mental health "realignment" law shifted the
responsibility for funding and decision-making from the state to the 58
individual counties. The counties now decide where and how to treat their
mentally ill, and state hospital placement is only one option. Counties also
use alternative treatment programs in community-based settings.
In the community mental health system, Psychiatric Technicians are
already used in county hospitals, in community outreach programs and in
psychiatric emergency response teams. They are being used to help fill the
pressing need for mental health services for the poor, the homeless and the
elderly. Wherever mental health treatment is provided, Psychiatric Technicians
are important members of the care-giving team.
The State Prison System
A major area of expansion for Psychiatric Technicians is the compelling need to provide treatment to thousands of state prison inmates with serious mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates that 10 percent to 15 percent of adult inmates suffer from serious mental illness. Among youthful offenders incarcerated in CDCR facilities, estimates are up to 20 percent have serious mental illnesses.
Over the years, there have been settlements of lawsuits attacking the state's failure to provide adequate care and treatment for mentally ill inmates. As a result, CDCR's predecessors -- the California Department of Corrections and the California Youth Authority -- began expanding their mental health programs. As part of this process, Psychiatric Technicians were hired in adult prisons starting in 1991 and in juvenile facilities beginning in 2002.
Psychiatric Technicians function in various aspects of these challenging programs, including crisis intervention, mental health screening, patient assessment, implementing treatment programs, supervising suicide risks, administering medications, maintaining medical records, and quality assurance. Another function involves parole programs that prepare inmates for productive lives after release.
For Further Information
Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT)
2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 205
Sacramento, CA 95833
(916)
263-7830
FAX (916) 263-7859
Information available on educational requirements, license
examinations, license renewals and fees, continuing education and licensing
enforcement.
California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (CAPT)
1220 S St., Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95811 USA
(916) 329-9140
1-(800) 677-CAPT
FAX (916) 329-9145
Information available on professional matters, job-related issues in
state government employment, legislation concerning Psych Techs and continuing
education.
Credits
Written by Keith Hearn, CAPT Consultant
Consulting Committee:
- Alisa Haffner
- Linda Pinkerton
- Phyllis Parod
- Dorthy Ball
- Pat LaMountain
- Richard Culbert
- Jeanne E. Higgins
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