What You'll Do

  • Provide patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities with routine physical, emotional, psychological, or rehabilitation care under the direction of nursing or medical staff.
  • Work as part of a team that may include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, or social workers.
  • Aid patients in becoming accustomed to hospital routines.
  • Organize, supervise, or encourage patient participation in social, educational, or recreational activities.
  • Perform nursing duties, such as administering medications, measuring vital signs, collecting specimens, or drawing blood samples.
  • Serve meals or feed patients needing assistance or persuasion.
  • Restrain or aid patients as necessary to prevent injury.
  • Interview patients upon admission and record information.
  • Provide patients with assistance in bathing, dressing, or grooming, demonstrating these skills as necessary.
  • Participate in recreational activities with patients, including card games, sports, or television viewing.

Essential Skills

Speaking 3.88/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.88/5
Service Orientation 3.88/5
Active Listening 3.75/5
Monitoring 3.75/5
Critical Thinking 3.38/5
Active Learning 3.25/5
Coordination 3.25/5
Reading Comprehension 3.12/5
Writing 3.12/5
Instructing 3.12/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.12/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to understand the kind of profile this role rewards. It helps you judge whether this career looks like a stronger match than your current role, a nearby move worth exploring, or a broader path to compare more seriously.

Top passions

  • Helper: Supporting people and making a difference matters to you.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.

Common styles

Empathy, Dependability, Cooperation, Self-Control, Stress Tolerance

Want a personal read on fit? Take the free assessment and compare this career to your current role, nearby alternatives, and broader stronger-fit options.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Oral Expression 4.0/5
Oral Comprehension 3.88/5
Problem Sensitivity 3.88/5
Written Comprehension 3.75/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.62/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.5/5
Speech Clarity 3.5/5
Speech Recognition 3.38/5

Technologies & Tools

Email software Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Windows Microsoft Word Patient management software

Work Environment & Strengths

Common Strengths for This Career

  • Empathy (High importance: 5.0/5)
  • Dependability (High importance: 4.77/5)
  • Cooperation (High importance: 4.76/5)
  • Self-Control (High importance: 4.75/5)
  • Stress Tolerance (High importance: 4.75/5)

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How to Become One

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful but is usually not required. Training is often provided on the job.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Behavior Aide Behavior Assistant Behavior Intervention Assistant Behavior Support Assistant Behavioral Aide Behavioral Assistant Behavioral Health Assistant BHA (Behavioral Health Aide) Charge Aide Charge Attendant Clinical Assistant Developmental Aide Direct Care Worker Health Service Worker Mental Health Aide (MHA) Mental Health Assistant Mental Health Associate Mental Health Orderly Mental Health Program Assistant Mental Health Worker (MHW) Neuropsychiatric Aide Psychiatric Aide Psychiatric Assistant Psychiatric Attendant Psychiatric Nursing Aide Psychiatric Orderly Psychiatric Technician Assistant (Psychiatric Tech Assistant) Qualified Medication Aide (QMA) Resident Care Technician (Resident Care Tech) Residential Care Tech (Residential Care Technician) Therapeutic Program Worker (TPW)

Career Fit FAQs

Is this career a good fit for me

This page shows the role itself. To see personal fit, use the assessment to compare your interests, motivations, and strengths against this career and against the role you are in now.

Can this help if I want to stay in my field

Yes. Many people use career pages like this to compare nearby roles in the same field and see whether they need a full switch or a better-fit version of the work they already know.

What should I compare first

Start with the daily tasks, the preparation level, and the work-style signals on this page. Then use the assessment to see whether this role looks like a stronger fit than your current role or just a different title.