Darlene D Pedersen is a psychotherapist and advanced practice psych nurse with an interest in the biological basis of mental disorders as well as psychopharmacology. Earlier clinical training to become a registered nurse was received at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven Connecticut (University of Connecticut)(RN,BSN) and graduate education in adult and geriatric psychiatric nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving an MSN degree. She is also on the Education Council of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

The sixth edition of PsychNotes will publish August of 2021. It will address important topics such as Telepsychiatry and Teletherapy and more importantly Covid-19 and its effect on mental health, both on individuals as well as health care providers. There are also several new psychotropics — for tardive dyskinesia, PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and also a new medication for schizophrenia. This new edition will still continue with its coverage of the DSM-5, rating scales in an assessment tab, lab results, and the most current psychotropics, as well as crises that deal with Covid and PTSD as well as the military, and geriatrics in a clinical pocket companion. Forms and rating scales (reusable) can be completed by pen and information wiped away using an alcohol wipe, to meet HIPPA requirements. It is a portable pocket companion that can be carried In a pocket or jacket into any clinical situation!

The fourth edition of PsychNotes, was awarded first place in the 2013 AJN Book of the Year Award in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

Another clinical guide, by Darlene D. Pedersen entitled: Pocket Psych Drugs: Point-of-Care Clinical Guide, 2nd Ed is also published by FA Davis Company. This guide provides "complete" coverage of over 70 psychotropics as well as practical considerations for the geriatric, pediatric populations as well as substance abuse considerations, clinical assessments, and clinical alerts. Pocket Psych Drugs also includes off-label use, black box warnings, basic psychopharmacology, metabolic syndrome, and other quick-reference information.

Hopefully these clinical guides will educate and provide helpful information to students and practitioners alike who care for those with mental illness, stress-related disorders, as well as the seriously mentally ill. Those in primary care (non-psychiatric practioners) are often the first to encounter psychological difficulties that may be assessed and treated by the primary care practitioner or referred to a psychiatric specialist when that expertise is needed. Sometimes a person is simply (or not so simply) dealing with grief, sadness, loss, or dissapointment and in many instances we are dealing with the "human condition." But ultimately the purpose for writing these clinical guides is to hopefully affect someone/s in a positive way through those who may have gained knowledge/information from reading these guides. It is through these "ripple effects" we help others change or improve the quality of someone's life, even if we are never to know the specifics or that person. But in some small way, through imparting knowledge or through action and words, we will have left this a better place....DDP