Psychiatric Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 6% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 94% of the time, stays with people.
Care for individuals with mental or emotional conditions or disabilities, following the instructions of physicians or other health practitioners. Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. May participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral or injectable medications.
156,960 people do this job in the US. $45,130 a year.
Reviewed on September 30, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work2 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people38 h
Psychiatric Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 2 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 38 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Teach wellness and independence strategies (about 1 h, a person checks); Issue medications and keep records (under an hour, a person checks); Take and record vital signs (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 3%
- 3%
- 0%
- 71%
- 23%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 6% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 5%. Today's estimate: 6%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 400th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 16 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.0022% to none (released February and March 2025); none to 0.002% (August 2025 to February 2026); none to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.0022% | 688 of 708 | 1 of 16 |
| Released March 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0033% | 612 of 672 | 2 of 16 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.002% | 648 of 677 | 1 of 16 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 16 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 400 of 447 | 1 of 16 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 66% of this job's working time as physical work. For 15% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell. 0.15 of 3, the 481st highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 34%
- No robot shown 51%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
94% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Encourage skills and activities, the in-person work, 18%
- Provide psychiatric and personal care, the hands-on work, 13%
- Train new employees, the in-person work, 9%
- Interact with patients and influence behavior, the in-person work, 8%
- Lead prescribed therapy sessions, the in-person work, 8%
- Assist clinicians with patients, the in-person work, 8%
What becomes checking the machine
6% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it.
- Teach wellness and independence strategies, costly if wrong, 3%
- Issue medications and keep records, a licensed person signs, 2%
- Take and record vital signs, severe if wrong, 0.6%
- Interview new patients, severe if wrong, 0.6%
What to learn
- The conversations. About 71% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- The hands-on craft. About 23% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 16 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.Encouragement and activities with patients in person.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 18% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities.Hands-on care and time with patients with cognitive or developmental disabilities.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 13% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.Instruction on the unit.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.Teaching patients in person, with the strategies planned.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 70%, documents 30% | 30%Desk part half by now |
| Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.Talking with, teaching and befriending patients in person.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.Sessions led in person under the prescribed procedure.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with patients with cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disabilities to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.Working alongside doctors and therapists with patients on the unit.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.Being with patients, watching for changes, and telling the nurses.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | In person 60%, hands-on 40% | Stays with people |
| Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.Verbal and physical restraint when required.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
| Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.Hands-on help with hygiene and living areas.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Figure 03 humanoids with Helix-02 VLA policy (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.Handing out medication from the dispensary and recording it.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Systems 50%, hands-on 50% | 50%Desk part half by now |
| Escort patients to medical appointments.Walking or driving with the patient.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Hands-on 60%, in person 40% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Psychiatric Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 6% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 6% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Psychiatric Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Teach wellness and independence strategies (30% of the task's time now); Issue medications and keep records (50% of the task's time now); and Take and record vital signs (50% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Psychiatric Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Encourage skills and activities; Provide psychiatric and personal care; and Train new employees. Together such tasks are about 84% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Psychiatric Technicians learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the conversations; judgment where errors are severe; and dealing with people outside the organization. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 94% of the working time stays with people, 6% becomes checking a model's work and 0% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Psychiatric Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 400th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 16 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Psychiatric Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 66% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 15% of the working time. Its index is 0.15 of 3. One example: Figure 03 humanoids with Helix-02 VLA policy for "help patients with bathing and tidying". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 16 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on September 30, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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