Psychosocial Worker- HM YOI Feltham A - Substance Misuse Team

NHS; Greater London; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Greater London seeks a motivated Psychosocial Worker to provide substance misuse support within their Integrated Healthcare Service. This role requires expertise in engaging with young people aged 15-19, promoting health and well-being through evidence-based interventions. With a diverse environment, the successful candidate will contribute significantly to trauma-informed care and team collaboration. Competitive salary of £32,199 to £34,876 per annum offered.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or offending behaviour.
• Evidence of working with children and young people with substance misuse difficulties.
• Experience of working in prisons or with adolescents.

Responsibilities

• Support individuals with their substance use and/or harmful behaviours.
• Ensure full risk assessment and risk management are effectively delivered.
• Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings.

Skills

High level communication skills (written and verbal)

Motivational interviewing skills

Ability to manage own caseload

Education

Psychology or other health/social care/youth related undergraduate degree

Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy

Tools

SPSS for Windows

Job description

Psychosocial Worker- HM YOI Feltham A - Substance Misuse Team

The closing date is 15 December 2025

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner. We have a Health and Justice Services Directorate, within which sits the 'Children and Young People' Service line working in partnership with 'Youth Custody Service' colleagues to provide trauma-informed primary care, mental health, neuro-developmental and substance misuse services to the young people and young adults within our care.

It is our mission to deliver patient-focused, developmentally appropriate, high-quality care, promoting a trauma-informed environment in collaboration with our operational colleagues. We support young people and young adults in understanding their own health and wellbeing needs, and in maximising opportunities to achieve their goals during their stay and beyond.

We are looking to recruit a motivated and enthusiastic Psychosocial Worker to provide Substance misuse support within our Integrated Healthcare Service at HM YOI Feltham A. Feltham A delivers healthcare services to young people (15-19 years). We are looking for staff who understand this and work in line with 'Child First' principles. By joining our team, you will not only attend to the healthcare needs of the young people we care for, but also have the opportunity to make a real impact on promoting health and well‑being for this population.

Main duties of the job

Clinical Responsibilities: Support individuals with their substance use and/or harmful behaviours, using motivational interviewing and other evidence-based interventions. Ensure that full risk assessment and risk management are delivered effectively. Understand and implement clinical governance. Ensure the highest quality of service is offered by following local and national quality and performance standards, guidance, procedures, and practice guidelines. Ensure that all work is performed in accordance with Trust policies and procedures, including Incident Reporting. Support the wider service with additional interventions as appropriate and with relevant training, e.g. initial clinical assessment, second signatory for controlled drugs, urine testing, dry blood‑spot testing, etc. Perform CHAT assessments as requested.

Communication: Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings. Liaise and communicate relevant information with partner agencies within local and Trust guidelines. Promote an open dialogue culture, where a positive culture of improving communication and maintaining healthy therapeutic relationships with clients is enhanced and valued.

About us

There's a place for you at CNWL. We're passionate about delivering first‑class, patient-centred, safe, and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, a community clinic, or in the patient's own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top-quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We're always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust. With every new employee, we aim to identify our future leaders, and we support our staff by providing opportunities for career development. With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more - whatever stage of your career you're at, there's always a place for you at CNWL.

Job responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities:

• To counsel individuals about their substance use and/or harmful behaviours, using motivational interviewing and other evidence‑based interventions.
• To ensure that full risk assessment and risk management are delivered effectively.
• To understand and implement clinical governance.
• To ensure the highest quality of service is delivered by following local and national quality and performance standards, guidance, procedures, and practice guidelines.
• To ensure that all work is performed in accordance with Trust policies and procedures, including Incident Reporting.
• To support the wider service with additional interventions as appropriate and with relevant training, e.g. initial clinical assessment, second signatory for controlled drugs, urine testing, dry blood‑spot testing, etc.
• Perform CHAT assessments as requested.

Communication:

• To participate in multidisciplinary team meetings.
• To liaise and communicate relevant information with partner agencies within local and Trust guidelines.
• To promote an open dialogue culture, where a positive culture of improving communication and maintaining healthy therapeutic relationships with clients is enhanced and valued.
• To contribute to the promotion of team cohesiveness and working collaboratively with colleagues in all parts of the Trust to achieve healthy and effective communication.
• To work collaboratively in developing professional links with other statutory and voluntary service providers, ensuring a corporate approach is adopted.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working with people with mental health problems and/or offending behaviour problems and/or other disabilities
• Evidence of working with children and young people with substance misuse difficulties
• Experience of paid work in direct care provision.
• Experience of working in prisons and/or with adolescents, in forensic services and/or Substance misuse or CAMHS services.
• Experience of working with young people with gang affiliations
• Experience of co‑facilitating psychosocial groups.
• Experience of working within a team.
• Experience of using computers for databases or data‑analysis, especially SPSS for Windows
• Experience of collating and inputting NDTMS data
• Experience of working in mental health substance misuse or related services
• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place to demonstrating outcomes
• Ability to manage own caseload and time

Training and Qualification

• Evidence of working with children, teenagers or adults with Substance misuse difficulties
• Evidence of ability to study successfully at undergraduate level or the equivalent
• Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counselling or within a specific psychological therapy
• Psychology or other health /social care/youth related undergraduate degree
• Motivational interviewing skills

Knowledge and Skills

• High level communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive
• Ability to communicate sensitive information to patients, carers family and colleagues in a way that addresses service user's particular needs.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people with mental health problems or other disabilities
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health or substance misuse context.
• An understanding of psychology applied to health care.
• Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training
• Experience using IT for databases or data‑analysis.
• High standard of report writing skills

Personal

• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciplines
• An ability to establish and sustain engagement with people who have mental health problems and severely challenging behaviours including sexually harmful behaviours
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and managed at regular intervals
• Knowledge of our business and how it supports patient care.
• An interest in working with people with forensic histories, mental health problems.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

£32,199 to £34,876 a year per annum incl. Outer HCAS (pro rata if PT)