Imago Relationship Therapy | Marriage Counselling & Couples Therapy | Pretoria, South Africa
Imago Relationship Therapy

Healing Happens
in the Space Between You

Marriage Counselling & Couples Therapy Rooted in Connection

You were not wounded alone — and you cannot heal alone. Imago Relationship Therapy works in the space between partners, where disconnection first took hold and where safe connection can be restored. Based in Pretoria, serving couples across South Africa and internationally.

Trusted by hundreds of couples — marriage counselling that works in the space between you

We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship. The space between you is where the injury lives — and where the healing happens.

— Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., Co-Creator of Imago Relationship Therapy

Kobus van der Merwe — Imago Relationship Therapist

Kobus van der Merwe
Certified Imago Relationship Therapist & Clinical Trainer (Senior Faculty)

With over 30+ years of experience in Imago Relationship Therapy and marriage counselling, Kobus works with what happens between partners — not just inside each one. He understands that the quality of the space between you determines the quality of everything within you.

As a certified Imago therapist, clinical facilitator, and senior faculty member, Kobus offers couples intensives, relationship therapy workshops, and professional training — all grounded in the relational paradigm developed by Dr. Harville Hendrix and Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, where connecting is not something you do but what you are.

Whether your marriage is in crisis or you are seeking deeper intimacy, Kobus facilitates a safe relational space where the connection between you can be restored — because that is where real transformation lives.

Advanced Imago Therapist Badge Imago Workshop Presenter Badge Senior Faculty Member Badge

Pathways to Restore the Space Between You

From intensive 3-day marriage counselling programs to weekly couples therapy sessions and transformative workshops — every pathway works in the relational space where disconnection lives and connection can be restored.

Couples Intensive Program
Flagship Program

Couples Intensive

A 3-day marriage counselling intensive for couples in crisis. In a safe, facilitated space, the ruptures between you are addressed directly — restoring safety, trust, and emotional connection where it was lost.

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Couples Workshop
Group Experience

Couples Workshops

Experience the Imago Dialogue in a supportive group setting. Learn to create safety in the space between you and your partner through mirroring, validation, and empathy — the building blocks of relational connection.

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Therapy Sessions
Ongoing Support

Relationship Therapy Sessions

Weekly or bi-weekly couples therapy sessions that focus on what is happening between you — not just inside each of you. Ongoing Imago therapy builds lasting safety in the relational space where your life together unfolds.

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Sexuality Intensive
Specialized

Sexuality Intensive

Intimacy and desire live in the space between two people. This specialized intensive restores safety and attunement in that space, so the full aliveness of erotic connection can re-emerge naturally.

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Online Workshop
Virtual

Online Workshop

The space between you does not require a physical room to be transformed. Our online relationship therapy workshops bring the Imago Dialogue process to couples anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your home.

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Singles Workshop
For Individuals

Singles Workshop

The relational patterns that shape your partnerships began long before your current relationship. Discover how the space between you and your earliest caretakers shaped who you choose — and how to create safe connection from the start.

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How Imago Relationship Therapy Works

Imago is not about fixing individuals. It is a relational approach to couples therapy that works in the space between partners — because that is where disconnection lives, and where connection is restored.

01

See What Lives Between You

Your conflict is not the problem — it is a signal that the connection between you needs attention. In Imago couples therapy, you discover that what feels broken between you was shaped by the relational environments you each grew up in.

02

Restore Safety Through Dialogue

The Imago Dialogue — mirroring, validation, and empathy — creates safety in the space between you. When the space between partners becomes safe, defences relax and genuine connection becomes possible again.

03

Experience Restored Connection

When the relational space becomes safe, connection is not built from scratch — it is restored. Conflict becomes the doorway to deeper intimacy, and your marriage or partnership becomes the place where full aliveness returns.

5000+
Connections Restored
98%
Experience Renewed Safety
30+
Years of Relational Practice
95%
Reduced Relational Conflict

What Changes in the Space Between

Real stories from couples who experienced the transformation that happens when the relational space becomes safe again through Imago Relationship Therapy.

We came in thinking our marriage was over. Three days later, something had shifted between us — not just inside us, but in the way we hold each other. Kobus helped us see that the space between us was where the hurt lived, and where the healing had to happen.

J&M

Johan & Marelize

Couples Intensive Participants

The workshop changed what happens between us entirely. We used to argue in circles — each trapped in our own world. Now we meet each other in the dialogue. The space between us feels safe again. We are grateful beyond words.

D&S

David & Sarah

Workshop Participants

After an affair, the space between us was shattered. We didn’t think it could be repaired. Kobus didn’t try to fix us individually — he helped us rebuild what had broken between us. Today, the connection between us is deeper than it has ever been.

R&L

Bongani & Nompumelelo

Couples Intensive Participants

The Space Between You
Is Where Healing Lives

Whether your marriage is in crisis or you are seeking deeper intimacy, the connection between you can be restored. Imago Relationship Therapy does not fix individuals — it transforms what happens between them. Take the first step toward safe connection today.

Begin Restoring Your Connection