Inova logo
Inova
Falls Church, Virginia

Mental Health Technician 2 Behavioral Health ED

Behavioral Health TechNo nightsFull-Time

Listed compensation

$20.3-$33.09/hr

The week · per this posting3-day week · 3×12s

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 48m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Inova Fairfax Hospital Emergency Department is looking for a dedicated Mental Health Technician 2 to join the team. The role falls under the Adult Emergency Department with a focus on our Behavioral Health population in a designated BH area in the emergency department. This role will be full-time day shift: (3 x 12-hour shifts, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm).

Inova is consistently ranked a national healthcare leader in safety, quality and patient experience. We are also proud to be consistently recognized as a top employer in both the D.C. metro area and the nation.

Featured Benefits

  • Committed to Team Member Health: offering medical, dental and vision coverage, and a robust team member wellness program.
  • Retirement: Inova matches the first 5% of eligible contributions – starting on your first day.
  • Tuition and Student Loan Assistance: offering up to $5,250 per year in education assistance and up to $10,000 for student loans.
  • Mental Health Support: offering all Inova team members, their spouses/partners, and their children 25 mental health coaching or therapy sessions, per person, per year, at no cost.
  • Work/Life Balance: offering paid time off, paid parental leave and more.

Mental Health Technician 2 Job Responsibilities

  • Assists unit leadership with oversight of the unit's Mental Health Technician education needs/compliance.
  • Provides individualized patient support for activities of daily living including bathing, feeding, bed making and measurement of vital signs and intake/output.
  • Provides information to patients, families and visitors which may include orients patients to the unit/program, explains rationale for rules or restrictions and provides printed information.
  • Serves as a resource and unit preceptor for all new Mental Health Technicians. Works with the unit leadership to ensure Mental Health Technicians have current competencies and skills to perform their work.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Education: High School or GED
  • Experience: Two (2) years of experience as a Mental Health Technician 1 or Clinical Technician 1 at Inova Health System and/or two (2) years as psychiatric technician at another facility.
  • Certification: Basic Life Support (BLS) – American Heart Association- upon start

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in a fast paced environment
  • Previous behavioral health experience with patients experience serious mental illness

We are Inova, Northern Virginia’s leading nonprofit healthcare provider. Every day, our 26,000+ team members provide world-class healthcare to the communities we serve. Our people are the reason we're a national leader in healthcare safety, quality and patient experience.

And from best-in-class facilities to professional development opportunities, we support them at every step. At Inova, we're constantly striving to be ever better — to shape a more compassionate future for healthcare.

Inova Health is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, pregnancy (including childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions and lactation), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristics protected by law.

Key Responsibilities

The Mental Health Technician 2 provides individualized patient support for activities of daily living and monitors vital signs within the emergency department. They also assist unit leadership with education compliance and serve as a preceptor for new staff members.

Requirements

Candidates must have a high school diploma or GED and at least two years of experience as a mental health or clinical technician. A Basic Life Support (BLS) certification from the American Heart Association is required upon starting the role.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Vital signs monitoringEmergency department carePatient orientationUnit leadership supportPreceptingClinical documentationCrisis intervention

Healthcare Professional Career Context

The cost-of-living index for Virginia is 101.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$56k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $55k in an average-cost state. 61.1% of Virginia clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 40 active healthcare listings this role was benchmarked against, 75% have no call, 40% require no weekends.

What does the healthcare market look like in Virginia?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$42k–$69khealthcare median $34k (middle half $33k–$43k)32 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$55k in purchasing powerVirginia index 101.1 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
healthcare listings in Virginia37 active1,743 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 75% no call · 40% no weekends40 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repayment$10k loan repaymentUS healthcare professional listings: 4% state a sign-on bonus (median $3k) · 12% offer loan repayment1,743 active listings, Oct 2026
healthcare pay trend+3.9% vs prior quarter—through Sep 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Behavioral Health Tech Jobs

20 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

20 jobs · 18 employers
7
<$45k
8
$45k-50k
4
$52k
0
$55k-60k
1
$72k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

13 jobs
401k / retirement match
100% this job
Sign-on bonus
8%
CME allowance
8%
PSLF eligible
8%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Behavioral Health Technician - Float Pool

Essentia Health · Duluth, Minnesota

$23.28-$34.63/hr
#2

Behavioral Health Technician

Discovery Behavioral Health · Fairfax, Virginia

$16-$25/hr
#3

Behavioral Health Tech IV

$22-$25/hr
#4

Behavioral Health Associate I

$20-$25/hr
+ 18 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

5.1/ 10
Listing-based score
  • No nights
  • On-site
Inova logo

About Inova

Hospitals and Health Care
Falls Church, Virginia
10,000+ employees

Benefits & Perks

Medical, Dental, Vision coverage
Team member wellness program
401k match first 5%
Tuition assistance up to $5,250 per year
Student loan assistance up to $10,000
25 mental health coaching/therapy sessions per person per year
Paid time off
Paid parental leave

Living in Falls Church

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$776k
Typical market rent
$2,534/mo
Residents’ average commute
29 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
108.9
State income tax
Up to 5.8%
Sources & methodology

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

BEA 2024 · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

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