Job Summary
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. 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 offered 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.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- 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
Desirable
- 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
Essential
- Evidence of working with children, teenagers or adults with Substance misuse difficulties
- Evidence of ability to study successfully at undergraduate level or the equivalent
Desirable
- Training in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counselling or within a specific psychological therapy
- Psychology or other health /social care/youth related undergraduate degree
- Other relevant postgraduate degree
- Motivational interviewing skills
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- 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.
Desirable
- High standard of report writing skills
Personal
Essential
- 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.
Desirable
- 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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 15 December 2025
