A clinical psychologist, Noel specializes in a psychosocial approach to emotional distress. Her work focuses on the link between trauma and altered states, human rights, and alternative approaches to healing. She has published and presented papers on the link between trauma and various anomalous states, stigma and negative attitudes towards patients, and the need for recognition of states of extreme distress as meaningful responses to overwhelming life experiences. She is on the Board of Directors for both the Hearing Voices Network – USA and the International Society for Ethical Psychiatry and Psychology, and is a passionate advocate for alternatives to the current mainstream biomedical approach to human suffering.