Learning the Language of Bipolar Disorder

As with any special niche, the bipolar community has its own language, its own geek-speak for those who are in-the-know. In patient-centered communities, the bulk of this focuses on different medications and treatment options. You see people share things like, “I’ve been doing DBT for months” or “I take benzos to help me sleep.” And we can’t forget the interesting titles for all the various medical professionals. Among these titles there are also a couple of unique words found in mental health groups - words such as pdoc and tdoc.

Pdoc is jargon or slang for psychiatrist. Some may also use this referencing their psychologist. You will frequently see this term used in online communities such as our forums and chat rooms. You may also hear it used in patient group settings such as hospitals or therapy.

Pdoc is a compressed phrase combining psychiatrist/psychologist and doctor. In conversations patients often want to distinguish between their general practitioner and their mental health practitioner, but psychiatrist is a long word and difficult to spell. So, in keeping with the instant message/texting trends to rely on abbreviations and anagrams, we have the evolution of a new word – pdoc.

The evolution of tdoc is pretty much the same. It combines therapist and doctor. However, in that the originating word therapist describes many different professionals – psychologists, counselors, pastors, social workers, life coaches, etc. – tdoc is interpreted just as widely. ~Kimberly