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Baptist Health Care
Pensacola, Florida

Mental Health Technician - Behavioral Health - Youth - PRN

Behavioral Health TechPer Diem

Compensation

Pay not listed

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the pay range, the work setting, call expectations and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

The Mental Health Technician is a key player in the delivery of care based on the recovery model. This position works under the direction of a registered nurse to provide direct patient care.

This position is responsible for supervising, interacting, assisting, and supporting specific age groups of psychiatric patients. The technician in this role helps maintain therapeutic relationships and lives the values to promote a positive therapeutic environment and patient experience.

The Technician assists in the implementation of recovery plans. This position is responsible for routine and assigned tasks and helping the nursing staff with patient care activities.

Responsibilities

  • Performs all responsibilities/duties required by the mental health unit as defined in the scope of service, to ensure that the unique needs of the patient are addressed.
  • Performs safety rounds to ensure that the patients and environment are safe.

During rounds, the tech is responsible for observing the patient’s appearance/behaviors and documenting the patient status, including reporting abnormal findings to the registered nurse.

  • Identifies patient needs and functions as part of the treatment team to develop and implement a plan of care that is individualized to the patient preferences and needs.
  • Utilizes Crisis Prevention Intervention techniques to recognize escalating behavior and de-escalates appropriately. This includes responding to escalating events and using interventions to maintain patient and unit safety.
  • Maintains up to date and accurate documentation of care provided to ensure the integration of information for use by the healthcare team, to ensure quality care.
  • Analyzes problems effectively and demonstrates appropriate courses of actions and solutions. Demonstrates proper judgment in decision-making skills when necessary.
  • Provides person centered care offering choices, engaging patients in the treatment process, fosters optimism and hope in others. Serves as a role model for others in managing behaviors and in de-escalation of patients.
  • Manages the therapeutic milieu and redirecting behaviors as needed.
  • Maintains current knowledge/certification.

Qualifications

Minimum Education

  • High School Diploma or Equivalent Required
  • Bachelor's Degree Clinical Psychology, Counseling/Psychology, Psychiatric-Mental Health Preferred

Minimum Work Experience

  • 1 year experience in psychiatric care or healthcare related position Preferred

Licenses and Certifications

  • BLS for Healthcare Providers (BLS) American Heart Association Upon Hire Required
  • CPI within 90 Days Required
  • Ukeru User Certification (UKERU_CERT) within 90 Days Required

Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

  • Ability to communicate effectively and document information accurately.
  • Strong interpersonal and team skills.
  • Empathy and excellent listening skills.
  • Ability to deal appropriately with confidential information.
  • Excellent customer service skills.
  • Knowledge of basic medical terminology.
  • Basic computer knowledge.

Baptist Health Care is a not-for-profit health care system committed to improving the quality of life for people and communities in northwest Florida and south Alabama. The organization includes three hospitals, four medical parks, Andrews Institute for Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, and an extensive primary and specialty care provider network. With more than 4,000 team members, Baptist Health Care is one of the largest non-governmental employers in northwest Florida.

Baptist Health Care, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BHC maintains and enforces a policy that prohibits discrimination against any workforce members or applicants for employment because of sex, race, age, color, disability, marital status, national origin, religion, genetic information, or other category protected by federal, state or local law.

Certain positions may require a Level 2 Background check through AHCA. Additional information about this requirement can be found here: Florida Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree

Key Skills

Patient ObservationBehavior ManagementTherapeutic Milieu ManagementIndividualized Care PlanningRecovery Plan ImplementationClinical DocumentationTeamworkInterpersonal CommunicationConfidentiality

Clinical Psychology Career Context

Of the 50 active Clinical Psychology listings this role was benchmarked against, 66% have no call, 30% require no weekends.

Clinical Psychology pay on WeekdayDoc is up 5.0% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).

The cost-of-living index for Florida is 103.4 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)). 58.1% of Florida clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Location & Logistics

Florida has no state income tax, which can significantly increase take-home pay compared to high-tax states.

Top contract/1099 Behavioral Health Tech Jobs

35 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution29 jobs · 22 employers

4
<$35k
4
$35k-40k
9
$40k-45k
8
$45k-50k
4
$50k+

Annual compensation range

Work-Life Balance Distribution35 jobs · 22 employers

0
1-2
0
3-4
1
5-6
34
7-8
0
9-10

Higher = better work-life balance

#1

Behavioral Health Technician at Hill (83693)

Centurion Health · Galesburg, Illinois

$26.91-$28.58/hr
#2

Behavioral Health Technician (83534)

Centurion Health · Pontiac, Illinois

$26.91-$28.58/hr
#3

Behavioral Health Technician - Bachelor's Degree in Psychology (83704)

$25/hr
#4

Behavioral Health Associate I

$20-$25/hr
+ 33 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 2.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 50% of Behavioral Health Tech roles listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 1,641 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Pensacola

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$260k
Typical market rent
$1,657/mo
Residents’ average commute
22 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
97.7
State income tax
None
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.