Mental Health Associate Jobs

Mental health associate must actively listen when a patient describes his emotional state. Mental health associate professionals, also known as psychiatric technicians, support people with developmental or mental issues, often under the supervision of health care professionals such as psychologists or psychiatrists. Their salaries depend on their employers and the locations of their jobs. Note that they differ from non‑professional mental health associates, who are typically graduate students in psychology or psychiatry interning at health care facilities. Basics Mental health associate professionals earned an average $31,370 per year, or $15.08 per hour, as of May 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their annual salaries started at below $15,680 and extended above $51,200, which translates to an hourly range of $7.54 to $24.61. This compensation was far less than the average $45,230 per year, or $21.74 per hour for all jobs in the U.S., and also less than half the mean salary of all health‑care practitioners and technical occupations, which ran an annual $72,730, or $34.97 hourly. Employers The largest employers of mental health associate professionals were psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals, where just over 34 percent of the total 69,840 workers received a mean $34,170 per year, or $16.43 per hour. The next largest group was state government, which hired over 33 percent of the total at an average $27,810 yearly, or $13.37 hourly. Highest wages were in specialty hospitals that do not cover psychiatry and substance abuse, with average earnings of an annual $47,840, or $23 per hour. Employers require postsecondary training for the position, although licensing is necessary in only four states. Locations The states with the highest populations offered the best opportunities for mental health associate professionals, beginning with Texas, which had 10,300 workers receiving a mean $18,600 per year, or $8.94 per hour. California followed with 8,730 jobs, and also boasts the best pay, averaging an annual $52,280, or $25.13 hourly. Among metropolitan areas, Boston, Massachusetts, presented the most opportunities, with 5,510 associates receiving a mean $38,990 yearly, or $18.75 hourly. The city with the highest pay was Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where mental health associate professionals averaged $58,370 per year, or $28.06 per hour. Prospects America’s aging baby boomer population is likely to suffer from more mental disease, which requires more mental health services . Because of this factor, the BLS predicts that jobs for psychiatric technicians will grow by about 15 percent from 2010 to 2020. This growth rate is close to the 14 percent increase expected for all occupations in all industries. Much of the demand will come from residential facilities, reflecting the trend toward treating patients outside hospitals, which are more expensive. #J-18808-Ljbffr Mental Health