Susan Noyes PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Susan chose a career in occupational therapy to work in adult rehabilitation, but had such an amazing level II fieldwork experience in mental health that she has practiced in that area for over 40 years. She has worked in a variety of settings including inpatient units, outpatient clinics, day treatment programs, and community residential facilities, as well as numerous grant-funded projects. Susan has taught at USM since 2006. She teaches the mental health practice course as well as courses in research and evidence-based practice, OT theory, the reflective OT practitioner, and group process.

Susan’s scholarly interests include improving quality of life for adults living with serious mental illness, developing occupational therapy assessment and intervention for adults living with hoarding disorder, and facilitating occupational therapy students’ engagement in reflective practice to develop critical thinking and professional reasoning skills. As a founding member of the former Portland Maine Hoarding Task Force, Susan developed a volunteer program to support people living with hoarding disorder to declutter their living environments. After involving OT students in the program as a level I fieldwork experience, Susan conducted a qualitative research study to investigate the effectiveness of this intervention. She has published and presented widely on this topic. More recently, Susan trained as a facilitator of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) and now uses this methodology in her classes to teach clinical observation skills. She conducted a research study on the use of VTS with OT students and has presented this topic at local, national, and international conferences.

Susan is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (FAOTA) and actively supports the Maine Occupational Therapy Association as chair of the Mental Health Special Interest Section.

When not teaching, Susan enjoys baking, yoga, dabbling in art, and spending time with her family and adorable dog, Mavis.