The Four Levels Of Psychiatric Technician Certification
A psychiatric technician is an integral part of many medical teams
, working with nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals to help keep track of a patient's physical and mental health. They are particular suited to help people with developmental or mental health disabilities. Most states in the United States have the AAPT (American Association of Psychiatric Technicians) to oversee the process of psychiatric technician certification. The AAPT is a nonprofit organization and the tests are entirely voluntary, but most facilities will not hire a technician without this particularly training.
The AAPT defines a psychiatric technician as someone who has a four-year degree at the very most. One could start out with just a high school diploma. The assistance of these people is invaluable when it comes to caring for those with mental illness or other mental health issues. They might also be known as psychiatric aides, mental health workers, behavioral health technicians, or many other combinations in the same theme, but they all amount to the same thing.
State-issued licenses exists, but only for Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Kansas. The rest of the nation, including the armed forces, have no such certification required, leaving it the responsibility of the AAPT. While there is no legal reason to get certification, the AAPT has such a good reputation for training psychiatric technicians, that many facilities will not even hire an aide without at least the first tier of certification.
Since psychiatric technician certification is entirely voluntary in the better part of the United States, it would be natural to believe there's not much to respect, but that couldn't' be farther from the truth. Such certification gives a prospective technician a much better chance to get a job, or to get a job at all. The examinations given by the AAPT prove the applicant knows the essential knowledge to get the job done, especially how to apply learning to real-world situations. Those who receive psychiatric technician certification are officially Nationally Certified Psychiatric Technicians, able to append NCPT to the end of their names. In many cases, this can result in a faster track to promotion (and to the accompanying raises). It can be difficult to even find a job as a mental health aide without even the voluntary certification.
The AAPT has four tiers of recognized expertise.
The first level requires only graduation from high school or its equivalent. That's all anyone needs to start on the road to becoming a fully accredited psychiatric aide. There is an exam involved, but it tends to be quite basic, given the very basic qualifications.
The second level will need 30 semester hours or 40 quarter hours of appropriate education at the college level, and a year of experience in the right fields of medicine.
The third level needs sixty semester hours or eighty quarter hours, along with two years of experience.
Finally, the fourth level will require a full bachelor degree in mental health or another related field of study, and three years of working with patients.
Each of these levels will end with an AAPT-administered exam, which must be passed before the certification is official.
Of course, for those who live in the states where certification is overseen by the government, the qualifications for
psychiatric technician certification will be different. Should you live in one of those states, check what you need to qualify before signing up for any classes.
by: John Adam
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