Terminology

It just hit me that as I write I sometimes use abbreviations or nicknames if you will to make my writing a little shorter and a little less stressful. I've picked most of these up from the Depression & Bi-Polar Support Association (DBSA-There's my 1st one!) bulletin/chat board. Here's a list of of who's who I just kyped from the Depakote website & added a little bit to, too. I hope it helps you understand our world a little bit better!

In our world we have a treatment team that may include some or all of the following members:

Our Psychiatrist: (P-Doc)
A psychiatrist is a doctor who diagnoses and treats brain disorders. A psychiatrist prescribes medication and may also provide psychosocial therapy.

Our Psychologist: (Talk Doc or T-Doc)
A psychologist provides therapy for psychological and emotional issues. A psychologist may also specialize in areas such as marriage or family counseling, behavioral therapy, and stress management.

Our Psychiatric nurse: (P-Nurse)
A psychiatric nurse helps people with bipolar disorder manage their physical and emotional health and is available to answer questions about medication and treatment.

Here's the other member's of our team that we normally don't abbreviate for:

Our Social Worker:
A social worker provides therapy and/or helps you access and coordinate the healthcare and social services that you may need.

Our Nutritionist/Dietitian:
A nutritionist or dietician helps you make healthy food choices by teaching you how to plan healthy meals and maintain healthy eating habits.

Our Pharmacist:
A pharmacist helps monitor the medication that your psychiatrist prescribes. A pharmacist can also answer questions about your medications and their side effects.

Keep in mind that not everyone has every one of these team members in place on their team for various reasons such as don't need all of them, $$$, or other reasons.

Hope this helps!!!

Be Blessed!!!

Big Scott