Mental Health Technician Interview Questions & Answers


Mental Health Technicians support mental healthcare professionals in hospitals, private institutions or patient residences where they observe and report information about the patient's behavior, mood, and wellbeing.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Mental Health Technician or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Mental Health Technician position, these Mental Health Technician interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Mental Health Technician Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Mental Health Technician interview questions.

  1. What educational qualifications and/or field experience do you have for this role?
  2. Provide an experience in which you effectively provided care to a mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or developmentally delayed patient.
  3. Can you share a stressful situation you experienced in a previous role, and what you did about it?
  4. How would you handle a patient who refuses to follow an essential step of their treatment program, such as taking medication?
  5. How would you encourage patients to engage in group activities, and conversely, to avoid disruptive behavior?
  6. Talk about a work scenario in which you shared a difficult or unpopular recommendation with a patient or their family. How did you approach it?
  7. Have you ever worked with an unusually difficult coworker? How did you handle that?
  8. How have patients’ non-verbal cues helped you to make assessments in the past? 
  9. What was your most challenging case in the past, and how did you accomplish a suitable outcome?
  10. A patient is emotionally distressed after suffering a traumatic experience. How do you respond?
  11. What, in your opinion, is the most important quality in a mental health technician?
  12. Describe the level of care you have provided and tasks you’ve done for other clients. Do you specialize in any conditions, ages, etc?
  13. How do you handle aggressive patients?
  14. What are some of your most often-used therapeutic techniques?
  15. How do you proceed when there is a disagreement in the care team?
  16. How do you handle a situation with a patient's family?
  17. How do you explain complex medical terms or treatment techniques to patients?
  18. Can you describe a situation when the facility you were working in underwent major changes and explain how you adapted to them?
  19. How do you handle a situation when you don't know the answer to a medical question?
  20. Can you describe your expertise in skill acquisition and behavior reduction?
  21. Can you talk about a situation where you managed to successfully convince a reluctant patient that the prescribed treatment plan was the optimum solution?
  22. Did you ever have a time when you felt dissatisfied with your work as a mental health technician?

Mental Health Technician Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Mental Health Technician interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  2. Tell Me About Yourself
  3. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  4. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  5. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  6. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  7. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
  8. Why Should We Hire You?
  9. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  10. Why Do You Want This Job?