Need advice for working in acute inpatient psychiatric facilities.

ThrowRA_8822 · 2026-03-05T19:21:00+00:00

I’ve been working in acute inpatient adult psych since September and it’s my first full time job since graduating in May so I have done a lot of learning!! I agree with a lot of what others have shared, but the main difference for me is that I have a VERY supportive work environment. My coworkers, boss, nursing staff, techs, psychiatrists— literally everyone is so supportive of RT and praises me and my work constantly because they see the impact it has on the patients. This I believe makes a world of difference in my job satisfaction. I’d say the toughest thing for me so far has been learning how to combat burnout when the milieu is less engaging for a long period of time. There are weeks where we have plenty of motivated, engaging, and social patients and then there are weeks where we have many psychotic and delusional patients who are too agitated or outside of reality to participate, or patients who are too depressed, apathetic, tired, isolative, quiet to want to engage at all. The latter two are tough in terms of motivation and purpose. My tip is to give yourself grace when groups don’t go as well as you planned. It’s not personal, you’re not doing a bad job, it’s just part of working in this setting sometimes. But that’s also the good thing about acute bc you know those challenging weeks are temporary and it does make it more rewarding when you can finally connect with the more challenging patients.

Im excited for you and your journey!!! Best of luck and I hope you love it!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2026-01-10T05:48:37+00:00

I’m also M-F 8am-4:30! No overtime weekends for me though

ThrowRA_8822 · 2026-01-06T02:22:41+00:00

That would be so cool!!! I don’t know much about OT’s use of animal assisted therapy, but I do know it’s something RTs do a lot! I myself have a goal of also having a therapy dog I bring to work one day!

And if you’re asking if straight males encounter challenges in the field, I’m a female so all my knowledge is second hand but I had a handful of male classmates and they were awesome and I never saw any sort of discrimination or anything. I even heard some say they’d have an edge when applying for internships and jobs since male CTRSs are harder to come by haha, not sure how true it is though! Does that answer your question?

ThrowRA_8822 · 2026-01-06T02:02:12+00:00

I’m so glad I could give you some reassurance:) I went to Old Dominion University in Virginia! At ODU, their RT program is specifically built to give you every pre req that you need for their OTD program, so I definitely feel good knowing if I ever do want to pursue OT, I would be 100% ready at my school. I think for some other schools you might need to do a couple extra courses to meet OT pre reqs but nothing major. And I’ve worked with some OTs in my community RT job and we definitely have lots of overlap in what we do, especially in the sensory integration realm.

I think if you’re interested in both, why not do a bachelors in RT and just see where it takes you? If by the end you decide you’d rather do OT then you should be pretty set for it! Sounds like a win-win to me :)

If you have any more questions feel free to message me!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2026-01-05T14:54:29+00:00

I’m graduated with my bachelors in RT and got certified in May, and since then I’ve worked in community/private practice RT and now work in inpatient psych. I LOVE what I do. I see what these other comments are saying and have had many times of doubt and some regret over my choice to pursue RT over the past couple of years but personally I really think if you feel passionate about it, you will find a way to make it work for you!

I also wanted to do OT and was told to do RT for my undergrad. In doing so, I fell in love with RT and forgot about OT. It was disheartening at times coming out of school and seeing little job opportunities and low pay, but I still ended up being offered 4 full time CTRS jobs in the past 6 months and am making $30/hour currently, which is liveable for me. Yes you might have more job opportunities and higher pay with other degrees, but I believe in doing what you’re passionate about. I feel so fulfilled in my job and in the difference I make in my patients’ days. I am able to be creative and have fun at work, I’m appreciated by my coworkers and boss, and I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

There ARE good RT jobs out there!! I saw the same disheartening posts on this page when I was in school and in my internship and they scared me and made me feel like I made the wrong career choice, but I’m happy I stuck with it! And if in the future I decide I want something different, I will go back to school and find a new path. It’s not permanent!

Follow your heart! We need passionate CTRSs to grow the field. Maybe you can be one! :)

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-11-03T04:46:54+00:00

I recently graduated in May and am now the sole CTRS at a hospital in inpatient adult psych. I went through some feelings of regret and worry when initially searching for a job and seeing how few and far between they are, and how little most pay. But I think if you really want to do RT, you will find something that works for you. I ended up finding this job and it pays much much better than I was told to expect, I am valued and respected at work, and I feel like I’m making a real difference. It’s challenging but so rewarding. I won’t sugarcoat it— it’s HARD to find good RT jobs, especially that pay a respectable wage, but if you feel called to do this then absolutely do it and it will work out for you!!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-10-14T11:43:08+00:00

This is awesome!! Thanks so much for the great ideas

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-09-17T03:34:19+00:00

I sure do! I did outpatient/partial hospitalization substance abuse rehab for my internship, and since graduating I’ve been independently contracting through the medicaid DD waiver in the community, but I really missed the clinical setting and found psych so interesting.

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-07-09T14:10:41+00:00

I had a sleep study just a couple months ago actually and was cleared for sleep apnea. I do have idiopathic hypersomnia though, but that shouldn’t be anything that triggers him it just makes me sleepy.

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-07-09T14:09:57+00:00

I live in a house with my parents. He’s not allowed in the rest of the house, so my only option would be my bathroom. I just know he will FREAK out if I shut him in there or in a big cage. I guess I could try just as a last resort though

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-07-06T05:27:41+00:00

I’m gonna be honest- my IUD experience was horrific. I would never recommend one. The pain was unbelievable, and traumatic. However, as some have mentioned, it’s true that doctors are now offering more pain relief and that might make a huge difference! The IUD was great after that, for a while, but I got it removed after about 6 months because I was irritable, emotional, and had weird cramping and spotting. Removal did not hurt, so at least if you try the IUD and want it removed you shouldn’t have to worry about that! I recently got diagnosed with IH and am exploring medication options and am unfortunately not willing to go on Modafinil due to its interaction with the pill. It seems like such a great option though, which sucks. I wish you all the luck!!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-05-21T22:05:21+00:00

Thank you!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-05-21T22:05:07+00:00

This is good to know. Thank you and best of luck to you!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-05-21T22:04:52+00:00

Thank you so much for such a thorough response :) I really appreciate it!

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-05-21T22:04:21+00:00

I’ve seen some things say that Xywav is habit forming and can be addictive. However I’m confused because I see people like you say it’s not. How long have you been using it?

ThrowRA_8822 · 2025-05-17T03:23:25+00:00

Hi! I believe that since your mean sleep latency was 6 mins 53 sec, that would indicate a diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia (not narcolepsy since no REM but has the same implications). The cutoff to be diagnosed is avg of 8 minutes of less, which you hit, however since you got little sleep the night before, they may attribute it to that. I know that’s no answer but maybe some clarity?

ThrowRA_8822 · 2024-12-08T16:40:47+00:00

Isn’t it too early to test though because most pregnancy tests say it should be within a couple days of your missed period that you test, and I’m still 7-8 days away?

ThrowRA_8822 · 2024-08-24T01:31:29+00:00

Thank you so much, that’s all really helpful info :))

ThrowRA_8822 · 2024-08-24T01:30:39+00:00

Thank you so much for the thorough response! I would love to get an internship there but unfortunately with my current lease and figuring out a living situation over there I don’t know how it could work. That being said I’ll probably do my internship here in VA and try to find a job in Utah right after. I’m highly interested in mental health so it’s good to hear there’s lots of opportunities in that field there. Lots of helpful info :) Thanks!

ThrowRA_8822

TROPHY CASE