Lourens Human

Lourens Human is an ACA counsellor with 29 years of clinical and academic experience. He practised as a Counselling Psychologist in South Africa from 1996 to 2017, then moved to Australia and has worked as a counsellor here since 2018. He lists stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, career issues, depression and coping with life changes among his main concerns.

He began his career in academia at the University of Pretoria, where he taught undergraduate psychology and coordinated the MA in Counselling Psychology. He supervised postgraduate students and ran practical training for counselling trainees. His research supervised MA and PhD students and covered career psychology, counselling psychology and sport psychology.

Alongside academic work he maintained a private practice in South Africa focused on career, counselling and sport psychology. After migrating he registered with the Australian Counselling Association, Level 4, and delivered therapeutic counselling at a Victorian retreat for people affected by severe trauma, including veterans.

Since 2020 he has provided counselling in South Australia for people who experienced traumatic crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, domestic violence and child sexual abuse. He also works with concerns such as ageing and geriatric issues, cancer, addiction, fatherhood issues, guilt and shame, loneliness, life purpose and midlife crisis.

Sessions are offered in English. Lourens draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques and on many years of clinical and supervisory experience to help clients talk through current problems, life changes and questions about direction. To begin, the site asks users to complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session.

How evidence-based techniques translate to online sessions

Many practitioners combine cognitive and behavioural methods with trauma-focused strategies to help people change unhelpful thinking, manage strong emotions and process difficult memories. Cognitive and behavioural approaches teach practical skills for managing anxiety and depression, such as breaking problems into smaller steps and testing unhelpful thoughts. Trauma-focused methods support people who have experienced abuse, assault or other traumatic events by helping them make sense of what happened and reduce the ways it affects daily life.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to identify which techniques fit their needs, goals and preferences. That choice can change over time as progress and priorities evolve, and sessions will adjust accordingly.

The biography does not specify which online formats are used, so confirm current options before booking. Online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also lets people use video or phone depending on bandwidth, or choose sessions that better align with work breaks and family schedules.