Klemen Kobal, PsyD

Educated initially in law direction and later trained in psychotherapy under the curriculum of Elisabeth Lukas and the Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna, he has built a practice grounded in logotherapy and existential analysis. Over several decades, he has developed an innovative approach to the psychology of elite performance, working not only with athletes but with the entire performance ecosystem, including coaches, medical teams, and sports organizations.

 

His applied work has reached the highest levels of international sport. Dr. Kobal has collaborated with athletes who have won six Olympic medals—three of them gold—and with more than fifteen world champions across multiple disciplines. In professional cycling, he has worked directly with riders from the leading WorldTour teams Jumbo–Visma and Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe, serving as a performance psychotherapist and supervisor within their elite environments. Through this work with specific riders of these teams, he has contributed to victories at the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España, supporting athletes competing at the pinnacle of global cycling.

 

Dr. Kobal is also the founder and director of the Academy for Psychotherapy and Logotherapy (APL), which offers comprehensive five‑ and seven‑year specialist training programs aligned with the standards of the Viktor Frankl Institute. His teaching integrates existential philosophy, clinical depth, and elite performance practice, offering students a rare synthesis of psychotherapy, spirituality, human development, and the psychology of excellence. Through his academic, clinical, and sports work, he invites practitioners to understand performance not merely as functional output but as a meaningful human endeavor shaped by responsibility, suffering, vocation, and the search for purpose.