Lourens Human, ACA

Lourens Human is a seasoned counsellor with 29 years of professional experience, now based in Australia. He is 63 years of age and lives with his wife, three children, and two dogs named Cinnamon and Pepper. Lourens built his early career in South Africa where he completed a BA (Hons) in Psychology (1991), an MA in Counselling Psychology (1996), an MA in Industrial Psychology (2003), and a PhD in Psychology (2005). He registered as a Counselling Psychologist in 1996 with the Health Professions Council of South Africa - the professional regulator for health practitioners in that country.

Lourens worked full time at the University of Pretoria from 1996 to 2017, teaching undergraduate psychology courses and coordinating the MA Counselling Psychology program. He also taught career psychology, counselling psychology and sport psychology at the postgraduate level, supervised practical training for advanced students, and served as a research supervisor for MA and PhD candidates. Alongside his academic roles he maintained a part-time practice focused on career, counselling and sport psychology.

After migrating to Australia in 2017, Lourens registered in 2018 with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) as a Level 4 Counsellor. He provided therapeutic counselling at a retreat in Victoria from 2018 to 2019 working with people who had experienced severe trauma, including veterans. Since 2020 he has been facilitating counselling for victims of crime in South Australia, supporting people affected by homicide, sexual assault, domestic violence and child sexual abuse. His practice addresses stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, career issues, depression and coping with life changes, with additional focus on areas such as aging, addiction, family and relationship challenges, and veteran issues.

Evidence-Based Approaches and Online Care

Many of Lourens Human's interventions draw on evidence-based techniques tailored to trauma recovery, career development and mood-related concerns. Trauma-focused approaches help people process distressing experiences and reduce ongoing symptoms by using structured methods to address traumatic memories and their emotional impact. Career-focused counselling concentrates on assessment, decision-making and practical planning to support career transitions, work-related stress and life-stage vocational questions. Techniques for anxiety and depression emphasize skills such as emotion regulation, coping strategies and problem-solving to improve day-to-day functioning and resilience.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Lourens works with each person to understand their needs, goals and preferences, and together they adjust methods over time so the therapy fits the individual rather than the other way around.

Online therapy options - including video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging - make it easier to access consistent support without disrupting daily routines. These formats provide flexibility for scheduling, allow people to connect from home or work, and enable ongoing contact between sessions when helpful. Licensed professionals can adapt these modalities to deliver effective, client-centered care that aligns with each person's circumstances.