A psychiatric hospital runs around the clock, and its hiring shows it.
On October 27, 2026, 11 psychiatric hospitals had 87 open jobs on BehavioralHealth.careers. Therapists, mental health technicians and registered nurses made up 62 of them, and 27 titles were PRN, per diem or on-call.
Four of the 11 posted pay ranges. Three are in California and one is in Massachusetts, two states that require pay ranges in job postings.
This guide uses their ranges as real examples, adds national wage data, and covers the jobs, shifts, benefits and training to expect before you apply for psychiatric hospital jobs.
The jobs psychiatric hospitals hire for
Federal rules shape the care team. A psychiatric hospital in Medicare must have a registered nurse available 24 hours a day and “adequate numbers of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and mental health workers.”
It also needs a director of social services with a master’s degree in social work or equivalent qualifications (if the director lacks the degree, at least one staff member must have it), and a therapeutic activities program for patients (42 CFR 482.62). That is why the same roles show up across most hospitals’ openings.
Here is how the 87 openings broke down on October 27:
| Role | Openings | Job description in brief |
|---|---|---|
| Therapists, clinicians and counselors | 23 | Individual, group and family therapy on the unit; treatment planning; discharge planning with families; substance use counseling |
| Mental health technicians | 21 | Safety checks, observation, helping patients through the daily schedule, de-escalation, documentation |
| Registered nurses | 18 | Medication, assessments, unit leadership on each shift; more than half are intake nurse jobs |
| Activity and rehabilitation therapists | 7 | Recreational, music, dance and occupational therapy groups |
| Utilization review, discharge, case management and family liaison | 6 | Working with insurers on length of stay, arranging aftercare and keeping families informed |
| Intake and admissions coordinators and counselors | 4 | Screening and admitting people who come in for care |
| Licensed vocational nurses and licensed psychiatric technicians | 3 | Medication and nursing care under RN supervision |
| Financial counselors and patient access | 3 | Insurance verification and the business side of admission |
| Registered Behavior Technicians | 2 | ABA support |
Source: BehavioralHealth.careers live listings, October 27, 2026. Roles are grouped by job title.
Intake deserves its own mention. Hospitals admit people at every hour, and 18 of the 87 titles named intake or admissions work, spread across nurse, technician, counselor and coordinator jobs. Ten of the 18 registered nurse openings were intake roles.
If you like fast-moving assessment work, intake is worth a look.
Our intake coordinator guide covers that path.
The 11 hospitals and their openings:
| Hospital | Openings |
|---|---|
| Northern California Behavioral Health System (Sacramento and Santa Rosa) | 16 |
| Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute (Georgetown, Texas) | 13 |
| San Antonio Behavioral Healthcare Hospital | 12 |
| Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital (DeSoto, Texas) | 11 |
| Charter Oak Hospital (Covina, California) | 9 |
| Houston Behavioral Healthcare Hospital | 6 |
| Westborough Behavioral Healthcare Hospital (Westborough, Massachusetts) | 6 |
| Aurora San Diego Hospital | 5 |
| Reno Behavioral Healthcare Hospital | 4 |
| Desert Parkway Behavioral Healthcare Hospital (Las Vegas) | 3 |
| Vista del Mar Hospital (Ventura, California) | 2 |
Benefits psychiatric hospitals list
Pay was missing from most hospital postings, but benefits were not. Of the 87 openings on October 27, 2026:
| Benefit named in the posting | Openings | Hospitals |
|---|---|---|
| Retirement plan (401(k) or similar) | 79 | 10 |
| Dental insurance | 77 | 11 |
| Paid time off | 76 | 11 |
| Health or medical insurance | 74 | 11 |
| Vision insurance | 74 | 11 |
| Life insurance | 43 | 7 |
| Tuition reimbursement | 23 | 4 |
Source: BehavioralHealth.careers listing text, October 27, 2026. Counts are listings that mention the benefit, not a guarantee of eligibility.
Three Northern California postings mentioned relocation, and six postings at Westborough, Georgetown and Reno mentioned a sign-on bonus.
Ask about eligibility rules, such as waiting periods and part-time or PRN status, since benefits for PRN staff can differ from full-time benefits.
Shifts: what inpatient schedules look like
Inpatient psychiatric work is shift work. Psychiatric technicians and aides “may work nights, weekends, and holidays” because hospitals operate 24 hours a day (BLS).
The postings on our board spell out what that means in practice:
- 12-hour shifts are common for technicians, and some nurses work them too. Desert Parkway listed technician day shifts of 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and nights of 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Houston’s night technicians work 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. with rotating weekends. Northern California describes “block scheduling” of 12-hour shifts, and Westborough’s intake nurse works three 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. shifts a week.
- Some hospitals run 8-hour shifts. Charter Oak posts 8-hour AM, PM and night shifts. Aurora San Diego lists a PM shift of 3:00 to 11:30 p.m. and a night shift of 11:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
- Nights and weekends are built in. Seventeen titles named night, evening or PM shifts, and six named weekend days. Charter Oak’s technician postings say weekend availability is mandatory.
- Some jobs split the week. San Antonio’s night intake nurse opening uses a “3/4 split with alternating weekends.”
- PRN work is common. Twenty-seven of the 87 titles were PRN, per diem or on-call, including therapist, technician, nurse, intake and discharge jobs. PRN can be a way to try a hospital before committing, or to add hours alongside another job.
Some therapist schedules are more regular, but not all. Westborough’s inpatient clinician works Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with one weekend day a month. A Santa Rosa therapist schedule runs four 10-hour shifts, including one weekend day, and one Sacramento clinician opening runs Friday to Tuesday.
What hospitals ask for
Mental health technicians
The technician job is one of the most direct ways into behavioral health without a degree. All 21 technician postings mentioned a high school diploma or equivalent, and 19 named CPR or Basic Life Support.
Sixteen named a specific de-escalation or behavior management program, such as Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) training, SAMA, Management of Assaultive Behavior, Therapeutic Options, Handle with Care or the Mandt System.
Some hospitals provide it after hire: Georgetown and Dallas list their required training as employer provided, and Northern California gives new technicians 60 days to complete CPI or an equivalent.
Experience requirements vary by employer: eight Texas postings asked for at least two years of experience, while Desert Parkway listed six months as preferred.
For how technician titles differ, see our comparison of behavioral health technicians, mental health technicians and psych aides, and our guide to becoming a behavioral health technician.
Therapists and clinicians
All 23 therapist, clinician and counselor postings asked for a clinical license, an associate registration or, for two substance use counselor roles, a counselor certification such as the CADC.
Six of the nine hospitals hiring therapists named an associate-level credential in at least one posting:
- Texas: San Antonio lists the LPC-Associate, Houston the LPC-A, and Dallas and Georgetown the LMFT Associate.
- California: Northern California’s clinician openings accept associate registrations (AMFT, ASW, APCC) alongside full licenses and note that clinical supervision assistance is available. Vista del Mar accepts the AMFT and ACSW.
If you are earning supervised hours toward a clinical license, ask each hospital whether it hires associates, and how supervision is scheduled and paid, before you accept. Our associate therapist jobs guide compares employers, posted pay and supervision support for pre-licensed clinicians. Our guide to types of therapy licenses explains the license paths.
Registered nurses
Psychiatric hospitals hire RNs for unit and intake roles. Texas intake nurse postings asked for at least two years of clinical experience, preferably in behavioral health, and Aurora San Diego listed three to five years of psychiatric RN experience as highly preferred.
Our guide to behavioral health nurse jobs covers the move into psychiatric nursing.
Psychiatric hospital pay: what four hospitals posted
Four of the 11 hospitals posted pay ranges in their listings. Three are in California, which requires employers with 15 or more employees to “include the pay scale for a position in any job posting” (California Labor Code section 432.3).
The fourth is in Massachusetts, where employers with 25 or more employees have had to include a pay range in job postings since October 29, 2025 (Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office). Their ranges on October 27, 2026:
| Role | Hospital and location | Posted pay |
|---|---|---|
| Mental health technician, full-time | Northern California, Sacramento | $23.00 to $26.62 an hour |
| Mental health technician | Northern California, Santa Rosa | $23.84 to $27.50 an hour |
| Lead mental health technician | Northern California, Santa Rosa | $27.50 to $32.31 an hour |
| Behavioral healthcare specialist or mental health technician | Charter Oak, Covina | $23 to $25 an hour |
| Licensed vocational nurse or licensed psychiatric technician | Charter Oak, Covina | $30 to $35 an hour |
| Licensed psychiatric technician or licensed vocational nurse | Aurora San Diego | $35 to $40 an hour |
| Registered nurse, inpatient psychiatric, full-time | Northern California, Sacramento | $48.00 to $55.50 an hour |
| Registered nurse, inpatient psychiatric | Northern California, Santa Rosa | $63.00 to $75.00 an hour |
| Registered nurse, psychiatry | Aurora San Diego | $50 to $67 an hour |
| Registered nurse, intake, per diem | Charter Oak, Covina | $46 to $50 an hour |
| Inpatient clinician, associate or licensed, with supervision assistance | Northern California, Sacramento | $40.23 to $56.13 an hour |
| Licensed inpatient therapist | Northern California, Santa Rosa | $60.00 to $69.44 an hour |
| Inpatient psychiatric social worker, LCSW | Aurora San Diego | $30 to $46 an hour |
| Master’s-level or licensed inpatient clinician | Westborough, Massachusetts | $68,640 to $114,400 a year |
| Case manager | Charter Oak, Covina | $23 to $29 an hour |
| Substance use disorder counselor | Aurora San Diego | $24 to $30 an hour |
Source: listing text from four hospitals on BehavioralHealth.careers, October 27, 2026. Single postings from employers in two states; not national rates.
Read these as individual hospitals’ pay bands in their own markets, not as typical pay elsewhere. We report a median only when at least 10 listings from three or more employers stand behind it, and no psychiatric hospital role on the board met that bar.
For a national benchmark, the median annual wage was $45,130 for psychiatric technicians and $44,910 for psychiatric aides in May 2025 (BLS). Our psychiatric technician career guide covers training, state licensing and pay.
Our psychiatric aide salary guide and behavioral health technician salary guide break pay down by state.
For therapists, our mental health counselor and behavioral health social worker salary guides cover national pay.
Safety and the realities of the work
Inpatient units care for people in acute crisis, and the work carries real risk. BLS reports that psychiatric technicians and aides “have some of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations” (BLS).
Good hospitals respond with training, staffing and a care team that backs you up. The de-escalation programs named in most technician postings are one sign of that. Ask about the rest directly.
The work has real rewards too. You help people through the first days of treatment, when steady, respectful care matters most. Inpatient experience can lead into nursing, intake, outpatient therapy and leadership.
Demand is strong. BLS projects employment of psychiatric technicians and aides to grow 18 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations (BLS).
Questions to ask before you accept
- What shift and schedule is this, and how often does it rotate?
- How are nights, weekends and holidays paid? Is there a shift differential?
- Which de-escalation program do you use, and when is training scheduled?
- What is the usual staffing level on the unit for each shift?
- For PRN roles: is there a minimum number of shifts each month?
- For therapists: is clinical supervision toward licensure available, and is it paid time?
- For nurses: what orientation do RNs new to psychiatry get?
Frequently asked questions
What jobs can you get at a psychiatric hospital without a degree?
Mental health technician is the main one. On October 27, 2026, all 21 technician postings from eight psychiatric hospitals on our board mentioned a high school diploma or equivalent, and most also asked for CPR or BLS. Ask whether de-escalation training is provided after hire; some hospitals on our board do.
What shifts do psychiatric hospital staff work?
Technicians and nurses commonly work 12-hour day or night shifts, and some hospitals use 8-hour AM, PM and night shifts. Hospitals operate every day of the year, so expect nights, weekends or holidays in many roles, and some intake roles split the week.
How much do psychiatric hospital jobs pay?
It depends on the role and the market. On October 27, 2026, hospitals on our board posted $23 to $32.31 an hour for mental health technicians in California, $46 to $75 an hour for RNs at California hospitals, and $68,640 to $114,400 a year for an inpatient clinician in Massachusetts. Nationally, the median annual wage for psychiatric technicians was $45,130 in May 2025.
Can therapists earn supervised hours in a psychiatric hospital?
Often, yes. Six of the nine hospitals with therapist openings on our board named an associate-level credential, such as the LPC Associate in Texas or the AMFT in California. Northern California Behavioral Health System notes in several clinician postings that clinical supervision assistance is available. Confirm how supervision works before you accept.
Find psychiatric hospital jobs
BehavioralHealth.careers lists behavioral health jobs with posted pay wherever employers disclose it. The hospitals linked above have employer pages with their open roles, so you can compare careers across hospitals before you apply.
For pay benchmarks, see our salary pages by role, and our content and salary data methods page explains how we collect and report pay.
Sources
- BehavioralHealth.careers live listings and listing text, read October 27, 2026 (1,279 published listings; 87 from 11 psychiatric hospitals).
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 42 CFR 482.62, Special staff requirements for psychiatric hospitals.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Psychiatric Technicians and Aides, May 2025 wage data and 2025 to 2035 projections.
- California Labor Code section 432.3.
- Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Pay Transparency in Massachusetts.
