leaving corporate, becoming a therapist & finding alignment with Caitlan Siegenthaler

in this episode of all our parts, i’m joined by ifs therapist + former marketing pro caitlan siegenthaler — who traded pitch decks for purpose and found a whole new path to alignment.

we talk about:

💼 her journey from corporate burnout to grad school (while working full-time!)

📺 why her ESPN dream wasn’t actually her calling

🧠 anxiety, identity shifts, and what no one tells you about career pivots

👶🏽 setting boundaries as a new mom & choosing softness over hustle

🔮 integrating human design & spirituality into therapy sessions

✨ her 2025 mantra: “if i’m failing, it means i’m trying.”

plus: caitlan’s sharing a special listener discount on her human design readings — perfect if you’re craving clarity on your next chapter.

🎧 tap in if you’re in your i want more era — and ready to make it real.

connect with caitlan:

📲 Instagram

🌐 Website

🎙️ Spotify | Apple

Transcript

 Hello, everybody. Welcome back to all our parts. Hello. I am here with my first in-person. Live recorded. Yes.  Host of return pod. She's an ifs therapist and just a super fun person to be around Kaitlin. Thank you so much for being on the show. So much for having me. I am. Excited.  So today I, so when we were talking yesterday, thinking about this parts aspect, and I loved learning about the fact that like being a therapist was your second like career choice. 

Yes. It was tele. So how did you get started? Tell us about the journey. The journey. So I.  Went to school after high school, I was like, ready to get out of high school. And I was like, get me out of here. And then I went to college and I was like, you know what? I'm going to be an ESPN sports anchor. 

I'm gonna be on the sidelines. I'm going to be telling you I love sports. I'm like a huge sports fan. I played sports growing up. And that was my dream. And I loved that. There weren't a lot of women in it at the time. So I was like, I'm going to bust into this thing. So I actually went to journalism school and broadcast journalism and studied that. 

And then I was like,  I'm scared and pivoted and then went into more like PR long story short graduated.  With a PR degree what am I going to do with that? A PR degree, got a job in like corporate marketing. And was doing that and I was sitting. I remember this so vividly. I was sitting at my desk. And a part of me was just like, you've got to be kidding me. I don't feel fulfilled. 

I felt so anxious all the time. I was in fight or flight. I was like doing the craziest stuff. I was also in my early twenties. I have a lot of compassion for that version of me. Okay. But I would wake up. So anxious. I had this boss at the time who. Really shouldn't have been a manager. And I would wake up like, 

 So anxious rush into the office to try to beat her in. And. 

 It was so out of alignment, I was burnt out. And so I was sitting at my desk one day. In my little cubicle. And I was just like, this it, this ain't it.  This is not it. I am miserable. I'm burnt out. I don't feel passionate about what I'm doing.  And I need to do something different. And so I just started listening to this little whisper that was like, be a therapist. 

And I'm like, what? That doesn't make any sense. And it was like, Be a therapist and I'm like, All right. How do I go about doing this? And it was really just one. Foot in front of the other.  Sorry. Capsule laugh at that because literally I have my foot in a boot. Right now. So it's But it was one step at a time. 

And I got great advice from a friend when I was thinking about going back to grad school, because it was just a total pivot. And a big risk. And she was like, Kaitlin, just take one class.  And so if anyone out there is thinking about doing something totally scary, I would encourage you. What's the like one, what's your one class. 

What's the one. Teeny tiny little step. Yeah. I love that you share.  The fact that.  You made a choice like at a young, really young part of your life. And then you recognize that you pivoted I've been exploring this idea that.  A sign of maturity in our society is that we know what we're doing. 

We know the path that we're on and we're supposed to ride that wave to the very end. When truly the idea of change and evolving is that we know our life doesn't look the same. No. And also I think the biggest farce that were told growing up as that, or like something that I believed, I don't know if I was told it is that like adults have their stuff together. Oh, That's a lie. 

Nobody knows what they're doing. And I really saw that in the corporate world. And I was like, oh, LOL, you're my boss. And like you have no clue and they're paying you a hundred K to not have a clue. And I was like, oh, no one knows what they're doing. So we might as well enjoy it. Wing it changed. 

Switch cores. When I talk about change, I'm like, We don't expect like our subs to fit in the same shoe size that we were when we were younger, we don't expect. We never expect us tangibly to fit in the same container.  Our dreams, our goals, our values also get to have that same freedom and flexibility a million percent. 

And that's what's most important. Kayla and I 18 yacht. I want it to be an ESPN sports anchor and that wasn't fully in alignment. But there was something about it. That was, I love podcasting. I love doing this. I love using my voice in this way. And it's okay, drawing on that. I. I think that every piece of the puzzle along the way, like still, even if it's doesn't seem like it fits, it will fit in what I learned in the business world. Has helped me tremendously and my private practice and running a therapy practice and has helped me differentiate myself. 

And I still use those skills, even though it was like a very hard pivot. And then same thing now in pivoting as well. And I'm working more with entrepreneurs and I'm doing a lot more podcasting and but all of my therapy skills still come into play. Nothing is ever just a complete wash in my opinion. When we allow them to be transferable they just allow us to expand to the person that we are going to be totally. 

But you have to allow yourself to get to that. You have to allow yourself to have the freedom and flexibility and to take the risk and to do something that.  Maybe your family or other parts inside of you or other people say wow, that's crazy. It might feel like that to them, but if it's right for you, then. Who cares? Yeah. Did you get tell us about the process in which so you transition from corporate and you start grad school. Did any like fear come up? Because. Master's programs. 

You're starting from square one and you've already had work experience. So what was that? Learning curve, first of all, I was cuckoo for cocoa puffs and I did my master's program while I was still working. So I still had my corporate job. So Monday through Friday, I was marketing Kaitlin and then Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, I was grad school Kaitlin. 

And. 

What was it like? Was I afraid? I think I was afraid, but I also was just more like curious. I was like, Is this going to work out? I love learning about this and I love learning. And. I don't know if I had the time.  To be afraid. Listen, I'm burdened myself to a little crisp. It was definitely not an alignment. 

I wouldn't do it that way again, I would not work a full time salaried, corporate job, and also go to grad school at the same time. Don't do that.  However, I think that it helped me, like when you only have a certain amount of time, I didn't have time to think about or reflect on it. Which was like horrible for myself care.  And probably helped me in some ways. Push through and.  And not be afraid as much or not let the parts of me that were holding fear. 

They just, I didn't have time to look at them.  If I'm being totally honest. Yeah, that, that's so real. Sometimes when we are in a really transitional phase.  We had just do it. We'll process it later.  And that was like my. Oh, like coping mechanism for a long time too, is I have for all the ifs people out there, my soothing parts, my firefighters are very much work oriented. 

 So like work is a soother for me, which sounds even more cuckoo bananas, but that's how my system set up people. Okay. I don't make the rules.  I can even notice now when I'm in a time of transition, I had a baby a year ago. I have parts that want to lean into work because I got value out of that. 

I feel seen in doing that. And so I have to watch those parts even still. So it wasn't that the fear wasn't there, but it was that I used an externally rewarded. Coping parts to okay. People are like, oh my gosh, it's amazing that you're going to grad school and you still have your corporate job. People loved it. 

I loved it. I felt like superwoman. I was like, listen. And the reality is like that was so not in alignment. I was burnt out. And it was really hard. I didn't really have a social life and I was in my mid twenties and I think about that and I'm like, dang.  Yeah. That would've been cool. I still did some things, but. Anyways. 

That's yeah, that's that? Yeah. How does it, how has your relationship to your work now changed now that you are a full-time mom or has it not changed? It has changed. I think. I think a lot more now about.  If I'm not setting this boundary with this client, what is that costing me? And ultimately, how is that impacting my son? 

If I am letting clients be like, oh yeah, sure, no problem. You can reschedule every single week. That impacts my time with my son and that impacts me. And I think having another person who's relying on you has made me like. Crystal clear about boundaries in a way that it took it outside of me. And so that's helped with my people pleasing parts. 

That's helped with my parts that learned a lot about what being a quote unquote good therapist means. And it's helped me honestly, move into more alignment. If I'm going to be away from him.  I better be doing work that like sets my soul on fire. Because when I go back to him, I want to be the best version of myself I can be. 

And if I'm doing work, that's 

I'm just doing it to pass the time, then what's the point.  

You know what I'm saying? No, that's so real for those who have for babies out there, maybe treat there for a baby as their own child. That's how I feel like when I go away from my dog. Yeah. And that's real too. Whatever that.  Other thing is whether it's a partnership, a dog. Human child, a for baby child whatever it is, I think it just, those relationships help us really clarify, like what is truly important. And I love my work. 

Don't get me wrong. I want my son to see a mom who runs her own business. And. Does those things and hasn't smothered him. With your, my entire world. Yeah. But he's also still a huge of course priority for me. And I think you can have both. Absolutely. It's leaning into that. What is going to energize me when I get back home? 

Yeah, I don't want to be. Half of a version of myself, because I said yes to something that I actually wanted to say no to a million percent. It forces you to go, okay, what's important. What am I going to allow to take me away from spending time with my loved one, my partner pet, whatever the case may be, what am I going to allow T. To shift my energy for just a little bit and then come back a better, more aligned version of myself. 

Yeah. And when I'm with him, then that means that I'm like more joyful, more present, more myself. And I don't have parts that feel resentful about care, caring for him because I've also filled out my own cup in terms of work and, or like social activities. And. I think that's really important. I don't want him to be 20. 

And for me to feel get caught in that saying I've done everything for you. And I gave up my career for you. That's not really fair to put on him.  And that goes even to a larger topic, that self care is not selfish. Yeah. That's like the living, breathing example of that. Of buying me. 

And right now it's small. It's slowly expanding. Like I've had to make compromise. Don't get me wrong. I didn't. I took a maternity leave. Even though we as solo preneurs, don't get like technically paid for that. I've only worked one day a week. So I've shrunk my like practice and my work down to that. And that for me was something I was willing to do. 

That was my compromise, but my compromise was that I still have something. Yeah.  Even if it's five clients, even if it's this one day, I need to keep that. So that I'm not saying when you was 20. I gave up everything and I did all of this for you. And yeah, I have done a lot for him gladly from a place of love and care because I'm also loving and caring for myself. 

Yeah. We cannot give. To other things, other people. Unless we are giving to ourselves. Yeah. I'm a million percent. It is a, it is such a unique relationship when we think about our relationship to ourselves and what we need to, to SU to cope all of the things.  Those are imperative and how we show up for the people around us.  Absolutely. 

And I'm constantly holding that in my mind when we do every relationship, the one with ourselves, the one with our partners, friends.  Requires some amount of compromise at some times, but I think as long as that comp, isn't not always you compromising as long as there's some balance there. 

I think you can use that as like the compass of the reciprocity and the way that the relationship like feels to you. Say more about how it's impacted your idea of what it means to be a good therapist.  

Yeah. You mean having my son and.  

I think that it's impacted me and in.  Really embodying the idea that I'm a human first.  Like it's.  It is one thing to say that.  But it is a totally different thing to enact that. And yeah, let me give you an example. I.  At the end of February, I'm taking my son to Disney world for the first time. With my mom and my dad and they live in Florida. 

So we're going down there and then I'm going to a bachelorette party for my cousin and I'm taking my son with me and my mom really wanted to do this day. And the day that it happens to be is the day I see clients before I had my son, I would have said, no, I have to work. I have to see my clients. I can move things around. And now that I've had my son, I'm like, I'm not missing out on this moment with him. 

So I have to tell my clients either we reschedule. Or I can't see you that week.  And parts of me would have felt like, oh, that means you're a shitty therapist because you're not going to see your clients. And what if they need you, like all of these stories?  And.  Just yesterday. I are there a couple of days ago, I emailed my clients on that day and I said, Hey, I have a conflict. 

I want to do this thing with my son. And can you either reschedule or would you like to cancel on this Wednesday? And I have the best clients. In the world and every email I've gotten back so far is absolutely no problem. I can do.  It works out. It's totally fine. Yeah.  Now I get that time with my son. 

So I'm not resentful of my clients. I'm still showing up in serving them in the capacity that I have. And to me. That is being a good therapist.  Damn. 

 Because that is not what we're taught. Not at all. Not at all jazz. I think that needs to be a course in grad school is Don't be the blank slate. Like I am a mother and. I have mother parts now, and I don't need to tell my clients every single in and out, and they don't need to hold space for me around that, but they can have compassion for. The fact that I have, oh, one year old. And as long as it's not, I don't cancel on them every week. 

I almost never ever move my appointments and my sessions. This is a big deal. One time thing that happens to fall on that day and I'm offering them other alternatives. And they understand that. And that's the like human to human connection. And I would do the same for them if I can I have set up boundaries around that. 

If you're a therapist and you're listening to this, it's it's okay for you to live. A big, bold, vibrant life as well. And I think.  A lot of us who are in the social media space have a understanding that we are in such a unique job where we are humans supporting other humans. We're not a robot service.  

Like we can't just be on our phones or we have to give someone undivided 60 minutes.  Full attention. That is such a unique job. So we have to be. Prioritizing also are. Our own lives, our own personal lives so that we can show up in sometimes. We've got to reschedule things.  I yes. Two things about that. One thing that I talk a lot about. 

I still go to supervision. I'm a decade into the field. I don't need to go. I paid for it because it's so important to me. That is my dedication to being a good therapist. Is I want to be in there checking myself before I wreck myself with my clients. I am committed to providing the best care that I can. 

And something that I talk about with my supervisor is like, what's best for us as therapists is usually best for our clients. Let me give you an example. I have a policy where now. Clients can I used to have a 48 hour? I still have a 48 hour cancellation policy, but I feel like cancellation policies is therapists get like really tricky. 

Cause it's like, What happens if your clients. Died or. And that, and there they get really difficult to uphold. Yep. So I had this idea. I was like, listen. The 48 hour thing. Okay. That's how everyone's doing it, but what feels aligned for me? So I do.  Quarters. So every quarter, my client is committing to whatever their session cadence is once a week.  Every other week, whatever it is. And they get every quarter, one session that they could cancel. 

Like just no questions asked.  I don't care what happened? You don't need to tell me you don't want to come. Cool. Canceled for free.  Outside of that.  You have committed to. Okay. Calming.  Every session that quarter.  And I was scared. To implement this because I was like, oh my gosh. Maybe this is and I processed with my supervisor. And the impact it's having to my clients.  In terms of their own commitment to the work.  

Yeah. I can't say a whole lot more because I want to protect my clients, but 

Let me just say that wasn't alignment for me, but seeing the results it's damn, that's also super in alignment for them because parts of them that were feeling like. Therapy's hard right now. There it is hard to motivate yourself to go sometimes. And I tell them that all the time, like any, Rainbows and sunshine over here. 

It is. We leave feeling all kinds of ways. But me holding that.  For myself, because I was like, man. These 48 hour cancellations when they're happening, I get one day.  It just, wasn't an alignment. And so now I'm noticing it was good for me, but it's also good for them. Also shadow two really did supervision.  Listen.  My supervisor, Chrissy tingle. 

I don't think she's taking on any more supervising. Supervision clients, but if she is you should, she's the. Best D best I will. Always I've been seeing her for four years. And.  This is what I think it's so important. Like good supervision.  Yeah, I could go on a whole like tangent it's what's missing in the coaching world, in my opinion.  Shout out to Dr. 

Coffin Walker. You are out there. If you are listening.  You are a queen you're iconic. I'm grateful for you. Every Monday we chat life-changing but good supervision is what allows us to show up and make really. Aligned and objective choices in our therapy spaces. I completely agree. I think it's the thing that has been the most game changing for me as a therapist, truly like I will. Dai on that hill and it pains me. Physically to hear about people getting shit supervision and it happens. So much, it motivated me to get my supervision license in the state of Colorado where I'm licensed. 

Cause I was like, No.  I want to offer people the same thing that I'm receiving. Really good. Supervision the way it should be taking into account the whole therapist as a freaking human being. And the second thing is what my supervisor has taught me is like,  Being relational.  

And bringing parts of me to the session, not to. Not to have my clients take care of me, but to just be like, hello. Yeah.  I'm gonna, I'm a human. I was sick recently. Sometimes naming that.  I named my parts all the time in therapy. I'm like, oh my gosh, my like therapist part is coming in right now. 

And she really wants to tell you this.  I'm role modeling for my clients. Yeah. That it's okay to have parts and that they're doing different things like.  That imagine if I was like, I am a blank slate. I have no parts.  Yeah. 

 Anyways. My therapist part is very clinical, so that perfect that it's like blended with Aetna.  And so my supervisors, homework for me was like, whenever I show up in a supervision, no clinical speak, I was like, 

 I love that though. No, I love it because it's okay, I don't have to prove that I'm like doing the work that I know the criteria that X, Y, and Z. And I can still be. Like affective and seen as like a good therapist. So shout out to good supervision. That was a side note. We love it. We need it. It's there. 

Yeah. You and I also have in common, we like to blend like spirituality, astrology, human design. Yes. How have you been able to incorporate that into your work?  Into my work with clients, with therapy clients.  It was like a very gentle process. I think it really began.  LOL and supervision when.  Just like little blips of oh, we started talking about like mercury retrograde and supervision and that, and then it's open up. Parts of me that honestly exiled my like more spirituality parts. 

Like I was like a really like witchy little kid.  I'd be like, I think I've lived a different life and people would be like, what.  

So your child's she okay. And I got, I had to shut that part down really early on and I was like crazy, intuitive. Crazy sensing.  And I would be like, oh, is not okay. And my mom would be like, what?  

And I learned to shut that down. And so for me, it started like in the process of not to use my podcast name, but like returning to myself, plug it.  At return pod, just getting. 



 But. 

 Reclaiming those parts and like looking at them and being like Katelyn it's. Okay. That you feel a connection to.  Taro that you feel a connection to human design that it has been really supportive for. You. And it doesn't mean that you're going to lose like your clinical skills. So I had to wrestle with that first.  And provision and my own work and my own practices. 

So it wasn't just like I rolled over one day and I was like, you know what fun. If I, which is okay if you do this, by the way. If I just started using human design in therapy. I've been studying my own chart since 2017. And then. It was a hobby. Like a side gig for me. And then a side gig. 

I wasn't like doing, I wasn't gigging. I wasn't making any money. I was just like nerding out over it. Cause I think it's so interesting.  And.  That I started talking about in supervision. And then I'd have clients like talk a little bit about astrology or talk a little bit about taro or talk a little bit about this. And I'd be like, yeah. And then I had a client and  they asked me, do I know about human design? 

And I was like, yeah. And they were like, would you like, can I send you my chart?  Sure.  

And then I suddenly realized, like having their chart.  Unlocked. Therapeutically. So much.  Cause I was like, I felt like I had been given a map to parts of them. That we couldn't see or touch because they were behind these big walls.  And then all of a sudden it was like seeing their human design and their map. I was like,  

My gosh. This makes sense. And that makes sense. And it led to different conversations and curiosities. And it's almost the fast track pass at Disneyworld.  That's what having to me, having your human design chart and therapy feels like.  Because you're getting information about yourself. About how you are uniquely designed about like your true. 

And then you can see where parts have gotten in the way. Yeah. So much more clearly.  Yeah, I love that you emphasize the cold collaborative approach in that the client is bringing it to you and you're like, yes, let's dive into it. Let's. Explore it and recognizing.  Yes, they come to us for clinical objectivity, the set in the other. 

And there are so many people out there who also can thrive with that intuitive, energetic. More woo-hoo quote unquote diagnostics that we use. Yeah. Like my whole thing is get you a girl who can do both. Yeah, you don't have to. And this was, I think, fear, parts of me. Not wanting to own this gift of mine for a super long time. 

Cause I was like, Ooh, people are gonna think I'm like,  That little girl who was like, something's wrong with them, mommy.  And my mom being like, how do you know that? What. 

 I was so scared that people are going to think I was like totally weird and like batshit and just like way out there. And.  I do think just like any polarization in ifs. If I only leaned into all the spirituality. And no kind of. Anchoring and like the process of therapy. That wouldn't be helpful either. But I do think there is something about tapping into this other route. When clients are interested in it, that helps us like, be that more well-rounded holistic.  Person and have a space like for that, I don't think there is always just like a dirt. 

First. We find the part. And we befriend that part, then we.  Whatever. Whatever the steps are.  That's great. 

 Yeah. But there could be protectors that are never going to tell you about that part.  

And then what. And then what.  

That's so real. I have found that the more I have allowed myself to trust and lean into my more intuitive and spiritual gifts, I've also been able to trust.  Like clinical judgment, more. A million percent. A million percent because that's the magic. I think. Both are true. Both things like, and we can hold them both. 

Like you don't have to just be like a hundred percent intuitive. You can use like common sense and strategy and clinical pieces. And. Those are helpful, but also.  There's something else there's something else happening. And we need to talk about it, for sure.  As we are wrapping up.  I'm thinking about what is a piece of advice you would give, especially to the early 20 somethings who are finding that they're in a career that they're feeling or stuck in that they're feeling like.  I don't know if this is for me, but I don't know. 

What's next.  I wouldn't say, listen. Don't ignore it. That's the first place to start is okay. I don't know if this is for me. Great. That's great information. That was great information for me. I eventually knew like this. Definitely. Now for me, you kidding seven. D years? No, not 70 years, but. So many 40 years or whatever, however long a career is I can't do it. You don't have to know what's next. Like just acknowledging that might not be it for you and staying open and curious, and maybe even doing like something like getting a human design reading, if you're interested in it or pulling a tarot card, like something to tap more into who you are. 

And returning to that, I think is going to help you like find the next little right stop, and find the next little right stop and You don't need to eat the whole elephant right away.  Or you're never going to get there. Like you're never gonna.  Take the step because it feels so big, right? 

If you're like, oh my gosh, I think I need to change careers. It's like parts go are you serious?  That feels like this, but if you're like, oh, I don't really feel aligned in this job. Let me think about what might feel better. That suddenly goes from being this like huge thing to okay, what might feel better? 

And then we make our list and then it's oh, okay. It might feel better too. Do something more rewarding. That's where I started. And then it might feel better to do this and this.  And then you just follow that and it's oh, okay. Cool.  Now what now? What, and you just keep asking yourself the question and following and taking like the next smallest step. Yeah.  I love that.  I am trying a new thing this season where I ask each of my guests. What is your commitment to yourself in 2025? 

Oh, I love this, my commitment to myself as I want to fail, or I want to fail at a bunch of stuff because if I'm failing, that means I'm trying. So I want to adjust, like fail, and be like not taking it that seriously. Yes. Obviously I.  Want success as well. 

That's my signature as a projector in human design. But.  I love the idea of flipping things on its head. Like we learn a lot in American society about success and getting good grades and getting a good job and What if it's what did you fail at? And so I just started this with a friend, but I do the three apps for every week.  What am I going to have fun at this week? 

What am I going to fail at this week? And can I cuss? Yeah. What am I going to give less fucks about this?  



And that has been really helpful for me. Cause I was like, Ooh, I'm going to fail. My current thing is I'm going to fail at pitching myself on other people's podcasts because then that means I'm trying, like I love being on podcasts. 

I love doing my own podcast. So if I'm. If people say no, that means I'm out there. Yeah.  I love that's like a Frank that's a fail reframe. Living it embodying it obsessed. I hope you fail a lot this year.  I'm sure I will. I'm sure I. Big failures, but from every failure to all learn something. And I'll be trying. 

And like one of those failures is gonna turn into.  I like a yes. Yes. Someone out there is going to say yes to me to being on their podcast. Yeah, can't wait. What are you up to? Where can people find you? Yes, what am I up to? I have a special offer for your listeners. So if they would like to book a human design reading with me, because that's what I'm doing now in 2025, or like the easiest way to work with me. At the moment for a one-off bet. They can use the code parts at checkout and they'll get a discount. 

So if they want a human design reading, they can do that. And I'll give you the link so you can put it in the show notes.  And other than that, they can find me on my website. She's getting a make-over. I don't know if she's going to be done by the time this is released, but I'm very excited. And then you can listen to my podcasts. 

A return podcast was Caitlin seeking dollar and. I podcast weekly and I love it. And if you want to.  Listen to me, Yammer on more than that's where you can find. Me. And I have YouTube now. Yes. Yeah. Exciting. And what am I up to? I'm doing human design readings and I'm working with entrepreneurs. Like I love the healers and the feelers. 

If that's you come and see me on, let's get you like really aligned in your business and taking action and moving forward and not letting like the world needs your magic. And I'm. I'm seeing this more and more as like people dimming their light or turning off their gifts. Like I was doing.  We got to stop that. Yeah. That's what I'm doing. Katelyn. 

This has been so fun. Thank. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. All of your links, everything will be linked in the show notes. And I'll see you all next week.