What can our relationships to home, body, and environment teach us about becoming conscious creators of our lives? In this episode of Design Deep Dive, design psychologist Dr. Suzan Ahmed dives in with Desirée Gonzalez, a Social Psychologist and Designer specialized in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Ecological Psychologies, to discuss the importance of creating restorative environments that promote liberation and social justice, as well as the role of design psychology in fostering a sense of groundedness and embodiment – inside and out.

Desirée is a Social, Economic, and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, a Trauma-Informed Design Practitioner, and a Design Fellow at both the Centre for Conscious Design (the CCD), as well as Design Corps where she is also a Project Manager in Public Interest Design working with Indigenous Architects and Designers.

Desirée shares her unique journey as a designer and social psychologist, as she reflects on her personal connection to place and the significance of viewing the body as a sanctuary and symbol of the unconscious. The conversation explores the empowerment that comes from conscious creation and the responsibility to shape a future that honors both individual and collective identities.

In this episode:

•  The importance of integrating restorative practices into the built environment.
• The symbolism of home, the unconscious, and the body through the lens of depth psychology.
• Empowerment in design as particularly significant for women of color.
• Conscious creation as a process of also dismantling harmful belief systems.

Connect with Desirée:

Centre for Conscious Design

Reimagining Worlds Without Whiteness Podcast

Indigenous Public Interest Design Institute

Hausense Consultancy

Connect with Dr. Za:

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/designwithdr.za/⁠⁠

Book a Design Psychology Consult Call

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Design and Psychology

03:14 Desirée's Journey into Design

06:07 The Importance of Design Psychology

09:39 Conscious Creation and Personal Reflection

12:38 The Body as Home and Sanctuary

15:41 Empowerment through Design and Identity

18:32 Future of Design Psychology

21:40 Legacy and Honoring the Past