Can people change? Help

My boyfriend has been perfect, totally what I wanted in a relationship. We were together over two years, but within the last six months or so, he's gotten rather comfortable being controlling and mean. He took it too far one night, over two months ago, and really hurt me emotionally, and I left him. Now he wants another chance, and said he'd never do it again and will go to counseling with me to get his anger in check. I love him so much, and I'm not hurt anymore, but can he really change?