Babita Spinelli: Opening Doors to a New Beginning

Life is full of ebbs and flows and, more often than not, we feel stuck in the rigmarole of a demanding life. New relationships or their ending, job losses, or career challenges can make you feel overwhelmed with varied emotions, and this is when it becomes imperative to take the reins of your life back. Psychotherapy can help provide that helping hand to take care of yourself and sort through it all. Babita Spinelli, founder and CEO of Babita Spinelli Group and Opening the Doors Psychotherapy, and a nationally recognized Psychoanalyst, Psychotherapist, Relationship Expert, and Executive Coach, provides an empowering space for clients to explore what holds them back while challenging them to make positive and healthy changes to transform their lives.  

How it All Began

Babita obtained her degrees from New York University and Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law and went on to practice law and corporate consulting at a Big 4 firm for many years, moving on to Wall Street. Some time into her career, she hit a rough patch in her personal life, and although achieving success in her career felt like something was missing. Feeling unsettled and unhappy personally and professionally, Babita Spinelli decided to seek therapy to make sense of the transition in her career, which helped her sail through a difficult time and move toward a happier and healthier life. Through the process, she also recognized that her true calling was being a psychotherapist and helping people through psychotherapy and other practices to make a positive difference in their lives. She enjoyed observing behaviors, building relationships, and noticing how that can make a difference in navigating one’s life and workplace situations. This led her to pursue the field formally, and Babita got licensed from the National Institute for Psychotherapies by completing a five-year advanced program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis. She also earned various certifications and underwent different training, including EMDR Level 1 and Level 2 Training, Gottman Level 1 and Level 2, and Certified Coach Training.  

Opening the Doors to an Empowered Life  

Babita knows what it’s like to struggle and to thrive. She grew up with her own set of evolving life situations and challenges that she tackled with therapy and coaching. She founded Opening the Doors Psychotherapy, where she uses traditional and modern psychotherapy techniques. Her corporate background and first-hand life experiences add to her innate ability to connect and empathize with clients who are facing similar challenges in their life. Babita thinks that her mental energy helps her physical energy and that, coupled with tools such as resilience, empowerment, and understanding patterns, helps her work with clients who are coping with life transition issues.  

In 2019, Babita established Babita Spinelli Group, which focuses on the corporate side of the spectrum. She provides consulting services to CEOs and HR leadership on mental health in the workplace with strategies to set their businesses up for success. Holistic coaching and consulting are the primary draw of her company, and she works with organizations that recognize the importance of mental health.  

“Since a better part of one’s day is spent at the workplace, it is important to strike a balance between work and life. We do not realize how much we are investing in our work life than in the other areas of our lives. This leads to burnout, anxiety, and difficulty in navigating workplace relationships. So, taking care of our mental health starts with us, and we need to adopt strategies to take care of stressors at work to help us cope with them better. Empathy at the workplace is also a key component,” Babita said. Babita also stresses the significance of boundaries to create balance. Her significant legal and corporate background and experience play a key role in her partnership with executives and leaders whom she helps in recognizing the benefit of a holistic approach in leading their organizations and creating cultural humility with a focus on mental wellbeing.

Array of Services

Some of the critical areas where Babita works are multi-cultural couples therapy, divorce recovery and support, infidelity, narcissistic abuse support, lawyer support, corporate/executive therapy, and workplace dynamics. She is often approached by couples to navigate high conflict issues or communication challenges. Babita Spinelli uses a score of treatment modalities and mindfulness practices, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), psychoanalytic therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Since Babita is also trained in the Gottman Method, she incorporates this approach when working with couples. Babita consults with corporations and law firms to develop business strategies focusing on mental health and wellness and human relationship dynamics. s. In her private practice and public engagements, Babita empowers people and organizations to deeply examine and redefine relationships as a tool for both personal and professional growth using a holistic, but tool-oriented approach.  

Rewards and Recognitions  

Babita has numerous awards, accolades, and honors to her name. She is the recipient of the 2022 Prestige National Psychotherapist Award, was the 2019 recipient of the New York Psychotherapist Award, and was named the top 20 inspiring women to look out for in 2022 as well as New Jersey’s top ten leading women entrepreneurs in 2020. She has been featured as a speaker at SXSW, in Forbes, Bloomberg, MSN, Men’s Health, Business Insider, and the Washington Post, to name a few. She is a sought-after subject matter expert featured in media outlets and television worldwide, and her virtual therapy and coaching services are provided globally.  

One of her well-received online programs, “Rebuilding your life after divorce or relationship breakup,” successfully launched in 2021, is about how one can process and rebuild after a divorce or a long-term relationship breakup and has helped thousands of men and women across the globe.  

The Road Ahead  

Babita believes that it is from the power of our minds that we derive the power of our lives. Hence, the importance of mental wellness cannot be denied. To facilitate the same, leadership in corporations can work towards breaking the stigma around mental health by encouraging their employees to participate in programs to elevate themselves. Babita is currently working on a book that will be released soon. She is confident that it would greatly help people worldwide learn about the different aspects of mental health. Live podcasting and multiple speaking engagements on an international level are also lined up for Babita in the coming days. When asked to share some words of wisdom, Babita shares, “Take the time to better understand yourself and deepen your awareness. Try not to be afraid of seeking support in your journey. It can be transformative! Most of us fear change, but that could be an opportunity as well. All you need to do is just beginning. Take one small but mighty step at a time as we are all just walking each other home,” Babita said while speaking with WomLEAD Magazine.