Heidelberg Competence Training for Developing Mental Strength

The Heidelberg Competence Training Programme for Developing Mental Strength (HKT for short) is a theoretically grounded mental training programme that aims to equip people of all ages and professions with appropriate mental strategies and skills to help them achieve the goals they have set for themselves and thus consciously and purposefully realise their personal potential.

Developing mental strength

Students before an exam, athletes before a competition, musicians before a performance – they are all in a similar situation: they are facing a personal challenge where it is crucial that they perform to the best of their ability at the right moment. After all, the ability to perform well when it matters most is not only essential for academic, professional or sporting success, but also for personal well-being, which comes from achieving one’s personal goals.

The HKT was developed at Heidelberg University of Education by Prof. (ret.) Dr Wolfgang Knörzer, Wolfgang Amler and Dr Robert Rupp. Originally conceived as integrative mental training in sport, it has since been adapted and applied to the educational and healthcare sectors. include its use in the school subject ‘Happiness’ at the Willy-Hellpach School and at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl Rehabilitation Clinic.

At the PHHD, HKT is an integral part of the Bachelor’s degree programme in’ and the teacher training programme. Here, students are equipped with mental strategies to tackle future challenges of all kinds and are as . Courses for students from all disciplines are also held at the PHHD from time to time.

The Heidelberg Competence Training (HKT) programme for developing mental strength is a psycho-educational approach that equips people with theoretically sound and practical strategies and skills to activate their personal performance potential in a targeted and conscious manner at the right moment, thereby enabling them to successfully achieve their individual goals.