Program Information Behavioral Intervention Support Progam (BISP) – Social Work Intern
The Behavioral Intervention Support Progam (BISP) is an acute-care behavioral health overflow unit within Enloe Medical Center that provides a safe, structured environment for adult patients awaiting inpatient psychiatric placement and treatment. The unit accommodates approximately 1–7 patients at a time who have been medically cleared in the Emergency Department and require continued behavioral health stabilization and care while awaiting transfer to an inpatient psychiatric facility.
Under the supervision of an MSW Practicum Instructor, the BISP Social Work Intern will gain hands-on experience supporting patients experiencing acute mental health and behavioral health crises. Responsibilities may include assisting with initial and ongoing psychosocial assessments and reassessments, participating in daily patient check-ins, supporting the coordination of inpatient psychiatric transfers, and communicating with patients, families, treatment teams, and outside psychiatric facilities.
The Social Work Intern will work directly and collaboratively with Emergency Department physicians, psychiatrists, psychiatry residents, psychiatric registered nurses, and other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. This provides the intern with an opportunity to observe and participate in collaborative clinical decision-making and develop an understanding of the intersection between medical, psychiatric, and psychosocial care within an acute-care environment.
The intern may also assist with therapeutic engagement, crisis intervention, and de-escalation strategies when clinically appropriate, while supporting the psychiatric nursing team in maintaining patient safety, stabilization, and a therapeutic environment until an appropriate inpatient level of care is secured.
In addition to supporting patients in the BISP unit, the Social Work Intern will assist with the Emergency Department’s broader behavioral health functions, with an emphasis on mental health assessment, crisis intervention, and disposition planning. Although the BISP unit serves patients age 18 and older, the BISP Social Work Intern will have opportunities to work with youth and adolescent mental health patients within the main Emergency Department setting. Under appropriate supervision, the intern will participate in psychosocial assessments, reassessments, safety and risk assessments, crisis intervention, therapeutic engagement, family support, and coordination of appropriate psychiatric services and disposition for patients across the lifespan.
This internship provides a comprehensive opportunity to develop clinical social work skills within a fast-paced acute-care setting. Learning experiences may include crisis intervention, suicide and safety risk assessment, psychosocial assessment, behavioral health treatment planning, de-escalation techniques, trauma-informed care, interdisciplinary collaboration, psychiatric placement and transfer coordination, patient and family advocacy, and effective communication with medical and psychiatric providers.
The BISP Social Work Intern will be encouraged to develop increasing independence in clinical observation, assessment, communication, and intervention while receiving ongoing supervision and support from experienced social work and behavioral health professionals.