The Design Therapist: New Roles for Educators in Aging Futures

Author Information

June He, Drexel University, United States

Abstract

In a post-pandemic world marked by disconnection, trauma, and an urgent need for intergenerational care, how might design educators become quiet agents of healing? This presentation introduces three innovative pedagogical archetypes — the Design Therapist, Design Acupuncturist, and Design Facilitator — roles that emerged from immersive, community-based teaching in a cross-cultural Aging & Design studio in Philadelphia. Grounded in practice research and interpretive reflection, this talk explores how design education can serve as a vessel for emotional repair, empathy cultivation, and relational healing. Drawing on multi-year collaborations with older Chinese immigrants and diverse university students, I reflect on the emotional, cultural, and pedagogical tensions that shaped these new educator roles. The “Design Therapist” supports students and elders through emotional blockages; the “Design Acupuncturist” identifies hidden pain points in intergenerational exchange; and the “Design Facilitator” gently bridges cultural and linguistic divides without controlling outcomes. This framework challenges traditional educator hierarchies and advocates for a relational pedagogy where vulnerability, care, and cultural humility are central. The presentation includes student and elder reflections, toolkit excerpts, and poetic narratives drawn from the course. It invites scholars and practitioners to reimagine teaching not as instruction, but as a shared healing journey — one that holds space for grief, joy, and belonging in aging futures.