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What happens when a financial guy meets Internal Family Systems… and ends up sobbing in an IFS demo at Esalen? 😅
In this episode, I’m joined by Rick Kahler—financial planner + financial therapist who helped me (yes, as his willing guinea pig) meet my money parts, stop letting panic run the spreadsheet, and make more Self-led financial decisions.

We also talk about how entrepreneurs can stop letting the visionary run the company alone while the “controller” is duct-taped in the basement.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How Rick stumbled into IFS (and immediately got humbled by the Ace of Spades demo)
• Why financial decisions are emotional decisions—and how IFS helps
• What “Self-led finances” actually feels like (with the eight C’s)
• How to work with money scripts without shaming yourself
• The entrepreneur trap: visionary on top, controller exiled
• Why resilience matters more than perfection (and why “fatal mistakes” aren’t always fatal)
• How Rick navigated selling a controlling interest in his company—and the grief of letting go
• Where to start if you want to meet your money parts (without spiraling)

Chapters

• 02:00 Rick’s IFS origin story (Esalen, “Schwartz guy,” and the demo that changed everything)
• 06:50 Why Rick didn’t initially see himself as a financial therapist
• 11:00 “Fraud” parts—yes, even for successful people
• 17:00 The lightbulb: IFS + financial therapy (and the guinea pig era)
• 20:40 What financial transformation can look like (spreadsheets, giving parts, saving parts)
• 25:45 Financial uncertainty in the collective + working with fear from the outside-in
• 36:00 Entrepreneurs: visionaries, controllers, and the E-Myth reality check
• 41:15 Resilience, mistakes, and staring bankruptcy in the face
• 44:35 Selling the business + getting unstuck at the “next level”
• 57:45 Where to start with money parts
• 01:03:00 Lightning round: Rick’s Self-energy song
• 01:07:00 How to work with Rick + resources

Links & Resources

• Rick’s financial therapy practice: Advanced Wellbeing
  Advanced Wellbeing Financial Therapy
• Rick’s blog / “Financial Awakenings”
  Kahler Financial
• Rick’s podcast: The Financial Therapy Podcast: It’s Not Just About the Money
  Financial Therapy Podcast
• Caitlan's website

Join Undefined, we start January 21st: https://www.caitlansiegenthaler.com/undefined

If this episode made you feel 1% more seen (or 1% more willing to open the spreadsheet without sweating), please follow/subscribe, and leave a review—it helps more Returners find the show.
And if you send this to a friend, I won’t stop you. 😉

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

EPISODE 100: "This was the year of realizing that being seen isn’t about doing more—it’s about feeling safe enough to stop abandoning yourself." -Caitlan

✨ JOIN UNDEFINED: Undefined is where Projectors, Manifestors & Reflectors finally build a business around their energy – and succeed because of it.
$200 OFF Expires 12/21---->>sign up here to get the code

In this milestone episode, Caitlan Siegenthaler reflects on what the last 100 conversations have actually been about: self-permission over self-improvement, nervous-system-led visibility, and the quiet work of becoming yourself without self-abandonment.

If you’ve been trying to fix yourself to be seen, this episode is your invitation to stop.

What You'll Learn:

• Why IFS and Human Design aren’t self-improvement tools
• What visibility looks like when your nervous system feels safe
• Why beginnings are about becoming, not doing
• How intuitive leadership actually forms
• What legacy really is (and what it isn’t)

10 Lessons from This Year’s Top 10 Episodes:

1. Reiki & IFS with Elizabeth Scott
2. Nodes & Past Lives with Sarah Temel
3. Return+: The Human Design of Being Seen
4. Return+: BTS of the Reading with Dr. Richard Schwartz
5. Return+: Evolving Beyond the Therapist Identity
6. The Legacy of Being Seen with Mao Beckett
7. Notes on Being Seen: What Visibility Really Means
8. Ditch SMART Goals: The Intuitive Way to Reach Your Goals
9. I Had to Be Quiet to Stay Safe with Jalon Johnson
10. Internal Family Systems & Human Design: The Ultimate Power Duo
    
    
11. Listen to Episode 99 of Return here
    
    

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Episode 99: Reflection, Reclamation & The Threshold of the Year of the Snake

It’s the 99th episode of Return (!!!) and in perfect alignment, we’re closing out our nine year cycle just as we step into a new one. In this reflective, ritual-like conversation, Caitlan unpacks the numerology of a nine year — the year of completion, shedding, composting, and clearing — and reflects on what she’s learned, who she became, and what she’s consciously leaving behind.

Inside, she shares her own roses + thorns in business and motherhood, how IFS + Human Design supported her through a year of deep transition, and invitations for you to reflect on your own nine-year cycle with journal prompts, parts work, and Human Design exploration.

If you’re craving closure, clarity, or a gentle remembrance of who you became this year, let this episode guide you back to yourself.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• What a 9 year means in numerology + why 2025 felt so intense
• Reflection prompts to meet the version of you this year shaped
• How Caitlan used Human Design (4/6 profile) to build authentic connection
• The part she reclaimed through IFS — anger
• What she’s leaving behind, what she’s taking into the 1 year
• Roses + thorns from both business + motherhood
• Why Episode 99 marks a threshold into visibility, magnetism, and creative fire 🔥

Timestamps:

02:00 — 05:30 | What a nine year is & why 2025 carried shedding energy
06:00 — 09:45 | Reflection + journaling prompts for the nine year
10:00 — 13:00 | Caitlan’s IFS revelation — working with anger & unburdening
13:10 — 15:00 | Human Design experiments + being a 4/6 connector
15:10 — 17:40 | What she’s leaving behind + tarot messages
17:45 — 19:45 | What she’s bringing into 2026 — Queen of Wands energy
19:50 — 25:30 | Roses + thorns: business, motherhood, expansion
25:30 — 28:00 | Gratitude, becoming, completion + Episode 100 preview

Links & Resources:

• Try Return+ free for 7 days to access the full Return to Self Syllabus
• Join Undefined (starts January 20, 2026) — Projectors, Manifestors & Reflectors
• Book a Shifted Session (HD Reading + Integration)
• Last Year's Year in Review Podcast Episode

Thank you for 99 weeks of returning together — for listening, sharing, and witnessing this work as part of your own self-expression. Next week’s episode marks 100, the final of the year, a moment of pause, and a doorway into what comes next.

Come reflect, release, and rise with me.
See you there. ✨

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Episode 98: Elemental Design, Mental Inflammation & Returning to Your Rhythm – with Dr. Shivani Gupta

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Shivani Gupta—Ayurvedic practitioner, turmeric researcher, founder of Fusionary Formulas, and host of Fusionary Health. We talk about her early health wake-up call, how she discovered Ayurveda, and why understanding your elemental design (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) can change everything about how you approach your body and energy.

We also dive into her concept of mental inflammation—how modern stress quietly inflames the body—and simple, accessible daily rituals that help you reset, cool inflammation, and return to yourself.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What Ayurveda is and how elemental design (Vata, Pitta, Kapha) shapes your body and energy.
• How mental inflammation from stress becomes physical symptoms.
• Why the 10pm–2am sleep window is crucial for detox, hormones, and inflammation.
• Simple Ayurvedic practices you can start today (tea rituals, circadian walks, grounding foods).
• How turmeric and other super spices support gut health and chronic inflammation.

Key Takeaways:

• Inflammation is inevitable, not a personal flaw—modern life is inherently inflammatory.
• Stress hygiene matters; mental inflammation often drives physical symptoms.
• Knowing your elemental design helps you choose routines that align with your natural rhythm.
• Sleep is foundational—that 10pm–2am window is your body’s prime detox time.
• Tiny rituals—like “tea time is me time”—create space for intuition and regulation.

Chapters:

• 00:01 – Welcome & setting the stage
• 01:09 – Shivani’s wake-up call & shifting to Ayurveda
• 04:01 – Discovering elemental design
• 07:25 – What Ayurveda actually is
• 09:52 – Mental inflammation explained
• 15:00 – Nervous system anchors: tea time & micro-pauses
• 19:34 – The inflammation forest fire
• 24:47 – Vata, Pitta, Kapha: a deep, accessible breakdown
• 32:00 – How to find your constitution
• 36:09 – A Pitta’s daily rhythm: sleep, food, and movement
• 41:51 – Nature’s medicine > gadgets
• 44:55 – What she’d tell her younger self about healing
• 46:46 – Her returning ritual: tea time is me time
• 48:25 – Super spices, turmeric, and her research
• 52:34 – Where to find Shivani & her upcoming Hay House book

Links & Resources:

Connect with Dr. Shivani Gupta:

• Supplements: Fusionary Formulas — Use code RETURN for 15% off
• Instagram: @doctor.shivanigupta
• Book: : www.theinflammationcode.com
  
  

Explore More from Caitlan:

• Website: caitlansiegenthaler.com
• Work with me through Human Design, IFS & Return offerings

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Return+ Evolving Beyond the Therapist Identity

Episode 97: The Journey of Transformation and Growth

In this Return+ episode, Caitlan Siegenthaler takes you inside the quiet, sacred, and often uncomfortable process of identity evolution. She shares how becoming a mother cracked open her sense of self, how the traditional therapist role began to feel too small, and how Human Design and Internal Family Systems became her compass for integrating truth, intuition, and authenticity.

Through personal stories and energetic insights, Caitlan explores the tension between who we were trained to be and who we are becoming, the whispers that guide us, and the deep desire to return to the most honest version of ourselves. This conversation is an invitation to step out of the boxes that no longer fit and trust the transformation that’s already unfolding within you.

TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE, SIGN UP FOR RETURN+ HERE

Projectors/ Reflectors/ Manifestors: Sign up for the Undefined Waitlist Here.

Doors Open January 13th, We Start January 20th!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why evolving beyond your professional identity is both common and courageous
• How authenticity often clashes with expectations placed on therapists and helpers
• What postpartum intuition can reveal about purpose and direction
• How Human Design and IFS together support identity integration
• Why listening to your inner whispers matters more than external validation
• How to navigate fear of judgment during big transitions
• Why creativity and intuition are essential parts of the therapeutic process
• How community makes identity transformation less isolating

Links & Resources

• Learn more about Caitlan’s offerings: www.caitlansiegenthaler.com
• Join Return+: deeper personal reflections, energetic tools & community

If you loved this episode, don’t forget to subscribe to Return+, leave a review, and share this conversation with someone on their own path of becoming

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Episode 96: The Legacy of Being Seen (Part 5 of the On Being Seen series)

Today I’m joined by my friend and amazing guest, Mao Beckett, LCSW—a liberation-centered somatic + spiritual therapist and founder of Reset & Resilient Wellness. Mao is a second-generation Cambodian American, rooted in a lineage of Kru Khmer traditional healers/mediums. Her work weaves ancestral wisdom with neuroplasticity and nervous-system science to help people repair relational wounds, unlearn internalized oppression, and reclaim voice.

We explore the legacy of being seen: generational silence, perfectionism, white supremacy culture, colonization, parenting + co-regulation, interception, and why visibility can be both sacred and scary—yet essential.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How “generational silence” shows up in the body and voice—and why it isn’t all yours to carry.
• Ways systems (white supremacy culture, colonization, capitalism) shape our nervous systems, productivity myths, and isolation.
• Practical self-inquiry to discern: Is this resistance mine—or inherited?
• Why being seen isn’t all-or-nothing: pacing, choice, and community support.
• Parenting through a co-regulation lens (don’t rescue from feelings) and building interoception as a visibility skill.
• How sharing personal stories creates collective repair (and why AI can’t replicate that human-to-human attunement).

Chapters:

• 02:30 — A musical portal to Self: Thee Sacred Souls and liberation themes
• 05:40 — The big visibility block: “I want to… but can’t”
• 07:25 — Generational Silence & Cambodian history: “broken courage” and freeze that never completed
• 12:50 — This is human, not just cultural; systems that shape us (perfectionism, “right to comfort”)
• 21:15 — Individualism vs. collective care; why our bodies aren’t built for factory productivity
• 24:20 — Mao’s own launch resistance: discerning mine vs. lineage
• 28:50 — “Valid fear of seeing ourselves” and how to approach the pause when pausing is scary
• 33:00 — Interoception as a practice; patriarchy, men’s friendships, and emotional attunement
• 35:10 — Parenting: don’t rescue from feelings
• 45:10 — Vulnerability as decolonizing practice
• 51:20 — Where to find Mao + offerings (intensives, membership, meditations)

Connect with Mao & Caitlan:

• Mao Becket — Reset & Resilient Wellness: resetandresilientwellness.com
• Instagram: @maobecket_resetresilient
• Caitlan's website: https://www.caitlansiegenthaler.com/

If this episode hit a nerve (or soothed one), share it with a friend who’s navigating visibility. Rate + review Return so more big-hearted humans can find us. For deeper dives, resources, and behind-the-scenes of this On Being Seen series, join Caitlan's Subst

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Episode 95: The Human Design of Being Seen: Visibility, Energy & the Art of Showing Up When It Feels Safer to Hide

There’s a quiet truth I keep coming back to: visibility isn’t about being louder — it’s about being braver with your energy.

In this episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on what it really means to be seen through the lens of Human Design — not as performance or exposure, but as recognition. Caitlan explores how visibility, nervous system safety, and energy alignment all weave together to help you show up without forcing it.

Because when your energy is right, recognition becomes inevitable.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• The difference between being visible and performing
• How your Human Design type shapes your relationship with being seen
• Why your nervous system plays a bigger role in visibility than your content plan
• What aligned selling looks like when you stop chasing and start resonating

Key Takeaways:

• You don’t have to chase visibility. When you’re aligned, you are visibility.
• Self-recognition is your most magnetic sales strategy.
• Your energy, not your strategy, is what people actually respond to.

TO LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE BECOME A RETURN+ SUBSCRIBER HERE

If you were sitting across from me at the table, I’d probably tell you this:
the best sales energy doesn’t come from doing more — it comes from being seen in your truth.

We talk about how every energy type (Manifestor, Generator, MG, Projector, Reflector) has its own rhythm for visibility, and why the most potent marketing move you can make might just be grounding your nervous system before you hit “post.”

I also share a behind-the-scenes story about how I created a paid partnership for this podcast without pitching or performing — just trusting my Splenic nudges and letting my design lead.

Links & Resources:

• To listen to the full episode become a Return+ subscriber here
• Book a Human Design Reading + Integration to apply this to your own chart here
  
  
• Follow Caitlan on Instagram

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.

Send us a text

Episode 94: Self-Energy, Skeptic Parts & Practical Alchemy

Today Caitlan is joined by Elizabeth Scott an IFS Level 1–trained psychotherapist, Reiki Master Practitioner, astrologer, certified nature-informed therapist, and Safe & Sound Protocol provider. Elizabeth blends Internal Family Systems, nervous system support, and intuitive modalities to help clients access their own inner wisdom and whole-brain healing. We get into self-energy (and why Maggie Rogers’ “Alaska” might be its anthem), how Reiki actually supports ventral vagal states, using astrology without the “higher/lower” moralism (hello burdened vs. unburdened expressions), legacy burdens, & more!

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• What Reiki is (in plain English) and how it tangibly supports your nervous system.
• How IFS, Reiki, and astrology weave together to create more access to Self.
• “Burdened vs. unburdened” expressions in astrology
• How legacy burdens show up—and a gentle path to unburdening.
• Practical ways to build a morning practice that actually fits your design and life

Chapters:

03:05 Elizabeth finds IFS: from psychodynamic & EMDR to parts work

05:26 Self as tuning fork: the ripple effect in families & relationship

18:44 What is Reiki?

22:50 Talking to skeptical parts + research notes for the left brain

24:45 Reiki as right-brain on-ramp to IFS (wonder, imagination, intuition)

26:16 Why Elizabeth added Reiki & astrology (and how it changed her work)

29:36 Charts as parts-maps: instant unblending through seeing

32:01 How IFS + Reiki + astrology integrate in session

34:32 Polyvagal lens: why nervous system regulation comes first

37:38 “Burdened vs. unburdened” expressions (credit: Sarah Temel)

41:40 What a session with Elizabeth looks like (therapy vs. coaching)

47:17 Elizabeth’s return-to-Self practice (30-minute morning meditation)

49:20 Tailoring practices to your Moon and nervous system

50:04 Return+ bonus: guided Reiki meditation (8–10 minutes)

50:35 How to work with Elizabeth + free “Reclaim Your Calm” meditation

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Elizabeth Scott:
  • Website
  • Instagram
  • Free meditation: Reclaim Your Calm
• Return+ Bonus
  • 🎧 Elizabeth’s Guided Reiki Meditation (8–10 min) — available for Return+ members

If this conversation helped you exhale and remember what’s already inside you, share it with a friend who needs a gentle nudge back to Self. Subscribe/follow Return, and if you want the guided Reiki meditation from Elizabeth plus deeper, behind-the-scenes episodes, join

Support the show

Produced by Caitlan Siegenthaler
Cover Art by Kiara Opara

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag me. And if you really loved it, the best thank-you is a written review on Apple Podcasts or a comment on Spotify.

That is a beautiful energetic exchange for Caitlan creating the show.