Mental Health Technician Essay

Currently I am pursing an associate degree in Mental Health Technology. Though it is not absolutely necessary to have a degree to be in this field, those mental health facilities that are looking for individuals to become a part of their organization are going for prospects that have completed a two-year program or training from an accredited institution. This lets the employer know that the individual at least meets the minimum requirements and skills for the position they are interested in. An associate degree in MHT requires classes in mental health, general psychology, biology, intervention, substance and alcohol abuse, as well as numerous prerequisites and core curriculum.
The core classes and training received before graduating helps Mental Health Technicians, also called psychiatric aides, the ability to understand how to interact with clients who suffer from mental and physical disorders, and addictions. Along with a two-year degree or certification, good interpersonal skills are essential because of the interactions between us and the clients. Additional training is done on the job for mental health technicians.
Mental Health Technicians duties include but not
limited to dispensing medication, taking patients to meetings or activities, being one-on-one with patients, supervision rehabilitation, all while under the watchful eye of a supervisor or administrator with a advanced degree. Their duties are pursuant to the type of facility a MHT professional works in. Since I want to worth with those with drug dependency my duties will vary versus the MHTs who work with the mentally disable.
The working environment of a Mental Health Technician is broad.
MHTs are employed at State mental health facilities, substance abuse clinics, and large or small private facilities. There have been plenty of news reports and movie made showing the dark side of working in these facilities, whether State run or private. Images of mental health workers selling drugs to their patients, engaging in relationships with those under their care, physically and mentally mistreating patients are just the fraction of the dark side within the mental health field. Mental Health Technicians and aides must have a standard of care for themselves and those that they are there to help. Mental Health workers must also be able to communicate with their patients and supervisors of any hint of inappropriate
behavior. According to the US Department of Labor, the median wages for Mental Health Technicians is approximately 25,000, an average of $12 hourly. This figure is based on national average, meaning that what you make is based on the place you live, experience, education and training. The better the education and training, and placement the chances are that the MHT will have a better paying job. In Ohio the median income is below the national average, closer to twenty thousand with an associate degree and/ or certification. The mental health place that I work at currently, the average hourly wage for an MHT professional with an associate degree is a little over nine dollars an hour, with a bachelor’s degree only getting seventy-cents more.
Mental Health Technicians or aides are entry level positions that still involve you to be able to handle situations with a clear head and to act accordingly. One of things I believe will be difficult for me being a MHT at a substance abuse clinic is seeing the effect it has on the individuals who cannot accept their addictions. Having lost an aunt to addiction and disease I sometimes feel apathetic versus empathetic towards addicts of any kind. I know that I want to help them but getting beyond that personal connection will initial be hard but necessary so as not to hinder someone’s recovery.
The things I will like about this job are the hands on contact with clients/patients as they progress from addict to a new person. They become new people, all most reborn, with hopes and dreams of what they are now capable of doing without the drugs or alcohol in their system. Being there every day, helping them as they battle whatever demons that drove them to become addicts is important. It is a transformation from a walking, talking empty shell to a human being that knows his or addiction, names it for what it is, and beats it down one day at a time. What I won’t like about this job is knowing that most of the ones who walkout free of the addiction will end up relapsing, returning again and again, or die from their addiction.
For the time being my goals are simple. I want to finish my Mental Health Degree and get a job full-time working where I am currently employed. Once my youngest daughter graduates from high school and I get her off to college I will work full time for another few years, then go back for my bachelor’s degree in mental health, studying to be a mental health counselor. With five years of getting my bachelor’s degree I want to open a shelter for young women who are battling addictions of all kinds. I feel that women hold so much of their emotions and problems inside and it opens us up to succumbing to addictions of drugs, alcohol, food, sex, etc. My goal is to be avenue for recovery for such women who may not realize they have a problem.
To become a licensed mental health counselor I need to finish my master’s also in counseling, as well as getting licensed in the state that I plan to practice, which at the present is Ohio. A license is not required but it will help to establish credibility in the field. A person with this degree can expect to make about $35,200 according to US Department of Labor. Interpersonal relationship skill, goal oriented, good listener, and organizational skills are important in counseling addicts who will waver, lie, and deny their problems. Understanding how these type of individuals think is essential to understanding how to help them with their illness.
Though I have wavered myself for too many years on the goals and career that I wanted to pursue, I believe that I have finally found the path that I need to take. Though it does not pay the best and the hours will be hard, and there will be disappointments seeing the people you want to help relapse time and time again, knowing that just one may make it is something that I am prepared for. I want me to be the one that is there to pick the fallen up, because I know that my aunt will be watching me and guiding me. It is a thankless job among many but one that fulfills me. It is important that whatever my goals and career achievements may take me, I continue to learn and be an asset, not a hindrance to those that I am there to assist.