As an occupational therapist for nearly 40 years, Dr. Susan Noyes had always been aware of the Roster of Fellows Award. Presented by the American Occupational Therapy Association, it honors the best of the best in occupational therapy 鈥 people who made significant contributions to the profession, people who changed lives.聽
She never thought she鈥檇 be nominated.
And then she won.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen the rock stars and the real foundational folks in our profession get it over time. You kind of revere them, like, 鈥榃ow, they鈥檙e awesome.鈥 It鈥檚 not really anything I ever thought I鈥檇 get, nor did I aspire to. You just go about your career doing your job,鈥 said Noyes. 鈥淭he nomination was enough. . . When I found out I got it, I was just dumbstruck.鈥
Noyes, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, specializes in mental health, a rarity in OT circles. She does the work of a traditional occupational therapist 鈥 helping people find ways to do the things they want or need to do 鈥 but her clients鈥 challenges may involve mental health more than physical.
Where other therapists might evaluate how people stand or walk, Noyes has spent her career evaluating how people think and process information.
One client鈥檚 past trauma, for example, made showering in her group home a deeply stressful, anxiety-provoking activity, so she put it off for as long as she could 鈥 sometimes for months. Noyes worked with staff to set up the woman鈥檚 bathroom with her comfort in mind, ensuring she had multiple bottles of shampoo, several towels, and any other items or rituals that she needed to feel safe.
鈥淭he staff, as you can imagine, were like, 鈥榃hat? What is this about?鈥欌 Noyes said. 鈥淏ut we are literally going to do what she asks for that makes her feel comfortable in the bathroom. Because what鈥檚 the goal? What鈥檚 her goal? We all want the shower to happen.鈥
Noyes worked at Maine Medical Center in Portland for 20 years before joining Tri-County Mental Health in Lewiston as its first occupational therapist. She鈥檚 worked with clients with an array of mental health challenges, including schizophrenia, cognitive disorders, hoarding disorder, and overwhelming trauma.
鈥淓very new person that you meet is so much more than their diagnostic label,鈥 Noyes said. 鈥淵ou have to know about the conditions and be informed by them, but meeting the person is really where it starts.鈥
Noyes estimates that just 2-and-a-half percent of occupational therapists specialize in mental health. She considers the group 鈥渟mall but mighty.鈥
Noyes began teaching OT at the 杏吧传媒 in 2006 and moved to full-time in 2012. It was a tough decision to leave the field for the classroom, but it鈥檚 allowed her to help shape the next generation of therapists.
鈥淚 have so enjoyed being with students. What a great teaching gig, right?鈥 she said. 鈥淚 am teaching a select group of graduate students who know what they want to be, and what they want to be is what I鈥檝e been.鈥
Teaching has also allowed her to promote mental health in occupational therapy. Some students have decided, like Noyes, to make it their speciality.
鈥淚t has been fun to watch them really get turned on by this idea that, yes, there鈥檚 absolutely a place for OT in mental health,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 really do feel like our students leave 鈥 no matter what practice area they go into 鈥 I feel they leave with a really solid foundation in making sure they are always attending to the whole person.鈥
Tammy Bickmore, Doctoral Capstone Coordinator for the Occupational Therapy program at USM, nominated Noyes for the award. She calls Noyes鈥 service to occupational therapy 鈥渢remendous.鈥
鈥淪usan is an outstanding role model, mentor, clinician, and educator,鈥 she said. 鈥淯SM is so fortunate to have her as a professor at our university.鈥
Noyes will receive her award at a ceremony in April and can now use the honorary credential FAOTA, Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
Even though she鈥檚 no longer working in the field, Noyes鈥 time is still filled with OT. She recently completed a research sabbatical, finished an article on hoarding disorder, and is revising a chapter in the profession鈥檚 primary mental health textbook. She鈥檚 looking at restarting a special mental health group for the Maine Occupational Therapy Association. And she is, of course, teaching.
鈥淚nspiring the next generation of folks who are going to carry this beyond me, that鈥檚 my goal,鈥 she said.