Couples Counselling · Johannesburg & Online
We were made for connection.
I'm Louis Venter, and helping couples find their way back to connection has been my life's work. Whether you're newly engaged or years in and wondering what happened, I am glad you are here. Read my story
Where are you right now?
Every couple arrives from a different place. Start where you are.
LOUIS VENTER IS A RESPECTED AUTHORITY ON INTIMACY AND HAS APPEARED IN OR CONTRIBUTED TO:
Intensive Couples Counselling
A different kind of therapy
We were born whole, with the desire and capacity for deep love and connection. But a lifetime of hurt, often stemming from childhood, can leave even the strongest of us wounded and a little stranded. Sometimes in ways we don't realise or understand. Marriage, and a committed relationship with a partner, is one of life's greatest gifts to restoring heart connection. We have a deep and holy calling to love each other into wholeness.
The ultimate achievement isn't autonomy, independence or self-sufficiency. It's in understanding and embracing our need for each other, to live fully alive ourselves.
What is intensive relationship therapy?
Intensive relationship therapy involves a solid chunk of time spent with a therapist, going deeper than weekly sessions allow. This can range from a three-hour session to two or more full days, instead of an hour a week. The extra time lets each conversation build on the last, so a couple can get beneath the patterns that keep them stuck rather than 'starting over' every week.
This isn't a weeknight checklist-item.
This is real life.
Real conversations.
Real context.
Since 2007, I have watched couples arrive convinced they had run out of road, and leave with a way forward.
How is Couples Help™ any different from seeing a marriage counsellor or clinical psychologist?
That's a really good question, and I'm glad you asked.
I am immensely grateful for all medical and other professionals in our country who are committed to the restoration of relationships. I also believe that every couple is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all blanket solution.
Having said that, Couples Help is largely about Intensive Therapy.
Most traditional counselling approaches involve an hour a week or something along those lines. But these short disconnected patches of time often lack a sense of continuity, and many couples are left feeling helpless and powerless when they are back in the grind of every day life. In many cases, these sessions ultimately become a guide to an amicable divorce, or at best, a relatively easier living arrangement.
My own personal story led me to realise that Intensive Therapy has had an overwhelmingly positive track record of relationships restored to wholeness.
It takes time, courage and commitment, both from the couple and the therapist. And sadly, very few places in our country offer Intensive Therapy. I've been there, and I understand the pain and hurt of disconnection. But I also understand what it means to have someone who'll walk the road with you. And having come out the other side, still happily married to my varsity sweetheart, I live what I teach every day.
I believe with all my heart in the restoration of relationships and heart connection. What I offer is not just therapy. It's an encounter. With yourselves and each other.
Relationship Resources
From the therapy room
What I've learned spending the better part of my time with brave couples in session. The patterns I see most often with couples, and what tends to help, written so you can recognise
Testimonials
What couples say
The couples who have walked this journey with me have my deepest respect and awe. It takes courage to fight for love. They are the real heroes, my heroes. And these are their stories.
“The Art of Loving came to us late on a Friday evening after a day, actually a week of severe fighting… The Art of Loving saved our marriage.”
“The Art of Loving helped us to transform and grow in ways we would forever be thankful. ”
“4 Hours Later, we had a new sense of what could be different. Both of us stepped out of Resentment and Hopelessness into excitement and creativity.”
Online Couples Courses
Not ready for a session yet?
Three self-paced online courses you can work through together at home, in your own time. Each is built on the work I do with couples in the room, and includes worksheets to help you put your learnings into practice. This is a good place to start, or you can use it as a tool to keep going between therapy sessions.
Remember why you fell in love
Book a Session
Sessions run anything from two hours to three days, depending on your situation. My practice is in Johannesburg but I see couples via virtual sessions too - wherever you are in the world.
I'm usually booked a few weeks ahead, so it's worth getting a date in the diary. Tell me a little about where things are and I'll come back to you.
Prefer to talk? Call or WhatsApp +27 (0) 60 951 3955