Couples Help

Couples Therapy & Counselling in Johannesburg

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR COUPLES

Due to the ongoing difficulties our world is facing, South Africa will be imposing a full lockdown with effect from March 26th, 2020. During this time, we are being urged to stay indoors unless absolutely vital.

Because of this, for the safety of myself and my clients, I will be limiting the number of couples counselling sessions I deliver in person.

But the world still turns. Mental health and wellbeing is more important now than perhaps ever before. Which is why I’m pleased to be able to offer online couples therapy sessions.

We were born whole, with the desire and capacity for deep love and connection. But a lifetime of hurts, 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.

My name is Louis, and this is my life’s passion – to see marriages restored. This is why Couples Help™ exists. You can read my story here.

Louis Venter, Founder, Couples Help

Couple Sessions

The Art of Loving Workshop

The Art of Loving is a one day, 10-hour group workshop designed to enlighten couples, share knowledge and create meaningful encounters that will help them grow in a short space of time, without breaking the bank or using up valuable leave days.

Pre-Marriage Counselling

So you’re not married yet, but there’s nothing like starting strong. On a solid foundation of deep connection and wholeness. Or if you know someone who’s getting married soon, what better gift than to equip them for a strong and beautiful forever-after story.

Baby Ready Workshop

Finding out you’re expecting a baby is the best news many of us will ever hear, and there is nothing more exciting than the prospect of starting a family and bringing a child into the world together. At the same time, you need to prepare for how this will change your marriage and your relationship with each other, and I am here to help you.

Repair after Affair

Affairs can have a traumatic effect on a relationship, so it is essential to deal with this trauma fast. Trauma counselling is all about asking the right questions, at the right time, and encouraging healthier, happier dialogue. It is also about establishing what we call 'rhythms of connection.'

Marriage Restoration Intensives

These intensives are not for the faint of heart, but they will change your lives forever. We don’t say that lightly. It takes courage and vulnerability to fight for your marriage and your hearts. The couples who come to these intensives are often at the end of their rope, and feel like they have nothing left to give. But we’ve watched impossible situations turned upside down, and right side up.

Good to Great

So you have a good marriage. Make it GREAT. Good to Great couple's workshops are created to solidify strong, long-term relationships by bringing back the exciting times of a new relationship.

Counselling

You’re doing okay, but you wonder if you could be better. You lock horns every now and again, and there are things that trigger unhealthy responses. You just need some tools to help you have better conversations and find each other again. That’s okay, we can have a single session, and delve into your needs. At the end of a session, we’ll chat about where you are at and if you need follow up sessions.

Sex & Sensuality

Over time, many couples find that their intimacy and ‘spark’ wanes away, especially after several years of marriage. My sex therapy for couples will help you to identify and work with the challenges in the intimate aspect of your relationship to unlock your full sexual potential with each other. Intimacy therapy will also lead to a more fulfilling relationship in other areas.

Testimonials

From those who’ve been there

{ The couples who haved 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. }

My husband of 3 years and I found ourselves in major disconnection and without understanding the sources of it. We went about our relationship in a vicious cycle of neglect, detachment , frustration, explosive fights and yet stayed in it because we loved and cared for each other. We hoped it would get better or resolved by itself. We found ourselves at odds as one of us wanted out and the other didn’t and we began to resent each other , and hurt each other more deeply as we could not resolve the situation or make sense of what was happening. We called Louis after he was recommended to us by a friend and a very intense and amazing journey began. Louis was able to help us understand where we were in our marriage and the processes we have done in getting us there , as well as the challenges and growth needed To help us get past it. He really helped us understand ourselves and our actions towards each other , to understand how we got there and why. With such great insight and understanding of ourselves we were able to come to our realization of our marriage and ourselves in a calm manner and from a place of love and kindness. I strongly believe we would have not been able to come to accept our situation without animosity and deeply hurting each other unnecessarily without the guidance ,clarity and superb counselling method by Louis. I sincerely recommend Louis to any and every couple who finds themselves in a situation where they are struggling

In their marriage. I love that he brings truth and clarity to the couple and allows them to then make decisions from that place. We are very grateful to have had him take us on this life-changing journey.

Timera

I recommend Louis and his intensive Marriage Restoration workshop extremely highly. After 20 years of marriage, I couldn’t see how any 2 day session would fundamentally change the dynamics of our relationship, but it did. The workshop reconfirmed and strengthened our love for one another, and showed us so much about ourselves and our relationship. It forced us to re-examine what we each individually brought to the marriage and how our past had trapped us in unhealthy patterns. The experience for me was like lifting a fog, I could suddenly see things I’d never really seen before, I suddenly saw how beautiful my marriage really was.

I also must commend Louis on his facilitation. He was kind and compassionate, supporting us when we faced difficult emotional topics, but he was also firm in guiding us to places we were very uncomfortable. I found working with him to be an excellent experience.

Don’t miss this chance to change your marriage for the better. Give Louis a call.

Andrew

I would recommend Couples Help to ANYONE and EVERYONE who are in or entering into marriage. My husband and I attended the two day programme and I can honestly say that it has given us such a deep understanding on what it means to have intimacy and connection in a marriage. Before I attended this programme I would have laughed at anyone who told me that two people could love each other into wholeness. What makes Couples Help so special is that its tailored specifically to your needs whether you are a couple who is in desperate need of saving a broken marriage or if you are looking to deepen your connection and learn more about each other.

Navashnee

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 counseling 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 the rubber hits the road 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, on the other hand, has had an overwhelming track record of over 95% of relationships restored to wholeness. It involves a solid chunk of time, two or three days spent with the couple in their own home.

This isn’t a weeknight checklist-item.

This is real life. Real conversations. Real context.

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.

Remember why you fell in love