Psychiatric Technician- HCPC 3E -General Psychiatric Adult Unit- Day Shift

UTHealth Houston • Houston, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

UTHealth Houston's John S. Dunn Behavioral Sciences Center is hiring a Psychiatric Technician to join our behavioral health team on HCPC Unit 3E, a General Adult Psychiatric Unit. This position provides direct patient care and support to adults receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment and plays a critical role in maintaining a safe, structured, and therapeutic environment that promotes patient recovery, dignity, and safety. We are seeking compassionate, dependable, and observant individuals who are committed to supporting patients through periods of acute psychiatric illness while working collaboratively with nurses and the interdisciplinary treatment team. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills, sound judgment, and the ability to effectively respond to crisis situations while ensuring patient safety and adherence to established policies and procedures.

HCPC Unit 3E is a 24-bed inpatient general adult psychiatric unit that provides care to adults ages 18 and older who require acute psychiatric stabilization and treatment. The unit serves a diverse patient population with a broad range of behavioral health diagnoses and complex psychosocial needs. Patients may be admitted voluntarily or involuntarily and require comprehensive psychiatric care, medication management, crisis intervention, therapeutic programming, and discharge planning. The unit emphasizes a recovery-oriented approach while maintaining a safe and structured therapeutic environment. Working on Unit 3E offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on patients during some of their most vulnerable moments. Staff members are expected to actively engage with patients, monitor behaviors, assist with activities of daily living, facilitate therapeutic activities, and support individualized treatment goals.

The Psychiatric Technician works as part of a multidisciplinary behavioral health team that typically includes: 2 Registered Nurses (RNs) and 2 Psychiatric Technicians (Psych Techs). This collaborative staffing model supports patient safety, therapeutic engagement, communication, and coordinated responses to patient and unit needs.

The Psychiatric Technician focuses on safety, performing patient care activities or tasks for psychiatric patients as well as maintaining a therapeutic and safe environment under the direction of the licensed staff. Must be comfortable working with mental health patients, many of whom have experienced trauma, in a compassionate and professional manner while promoting a safe environment.

Requirements

• High School Diploma or equivalent required
• 1 year of experience as a Mental Health Technician/Psychiatric Technician or successful completion of the Psychiatric Technician Internship program required
• Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by American Red Cross or American Heart Association (AHA) required
• Employees must permanently reside and work in the State of Texas.

Nice To Haves

• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) by Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) preferred
• Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (MA) by National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT) preferred
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) by National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) preferred

Responsibilities

• Provides inpatient and outpatient non-skilled nursing for psychiatric patients.
• Provides supervision of patients on suicide or other critical precautions, 1:1 or 2:1, which requires a staff member to be within continuous arm 's length of a patient.
• Responsible for operating equipment such as IVAC, Sphygmomanometer and Scale.
• Assists patients with activities of daily living i.e. bathing, shaving, hygiene, toileting, and grooming, while respecting the patient 's privacy, to the extent possible.
• Interacts and engages with patients in a therapeutic manner using Trauma informed care and therapeutic communication strategies.
• Participates in implementing and formulating patients' treatment plan based on experience and close observation of patients.
• Helps maintain a therapeutic milieu. Assists with milieu management and uses crisis de-escalation and trauma informed care strategies to reduce destructive and disruptive patient behavior and ensures the safety of patient, self, and others. Recognizes early warning signs of worsening patient behaviors and intervenes appropriately.
• Facilitates patients' groups and participation in therapeutic activities (i.e. community meeting, transition, and wrap-up groups etc.).
• Implements crisis management skills (de-escalation skills) as directed by licensed staff, including situations where the patient could be in danger, suffer self-inflicted harm, or harm others.
• Must be able to restrain an adult, adolescent, or pediatric patient within the guidelines currently in use at HCPC, including circumstances where the patient is violent or aggressive towards staff and others, including other patients.
• In certain circumstances, must be able to maintain initial physical control of an adult, adolescent or pediatric patient individually until assistance from other team members arrive.
• Escorts patients on and off campus for medical emergencies and diagnostic procedures when required.
• Conducts patient Q15 and Q30 minutes observation rounds with appropriate documentation, and one to one observation. Observes patient condition for signs/symptoms consistent with illness or mental status change; reports observations about patient condition to the nurse.
• Conducts environmental rounds on unit for safety.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• 100% paid medical premiums for our full-time employees
• Generous time off (holidays, preventative leave day, both vacation and sick time – all of which equates to around 37-38 days per year)
• Longevity Pay (Monthly payments after two years of service)
• Retirement/pension plan
• Free financial and legal counseling
• Free mental health counseling services
• Gym membership discounts and access to wellness programs
• Other employee discounts including entertainment, car rentals, cell phones, etc.
• Resources for child and elder care

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED