Applied psychology for high-stakes, complex, and frontier environments
Supporting performance, adaptation, and decision-making across operational, remote, and high-consequence environments.
About Laura
Dr Laura Thomas is a Chartered Psychologist (UK), executive and organisational coach, and human performance specialist with over 15 years of international experience supporting individuals and teams operating in demanding environments. Her experience spans senior corporate leadership, military settings, analog astronaut missions, polar expeditions, and other high-responsibility contexts.
Alongside consulting and coaching, Laura conducts applied research on performance and adaptation in isolated and extreme environments. Her work includes published research on virtual reality countermeasures for long-duration spaceflight, with current interests in digital phenotyping, salutogenesis, and the use of multi-modal data and emerging technologies to better understand human performance over time.
Laura is the founder of Source Coherence and serves as Head of Human Performance at PARSEC Space, where she leads the development of training, assessment, and simulation frameworks for spaceflight-relevant and extreme environments. She is a member of The Explorers Club and has presented at international scientific and space exploration conferences.
How I approach performance
I work with organisations, teams, and individuals operating in complex environments, with a focus on how people think, respond, and interact in real-world conditions. My work centres on understanding and improving performance in environments where the stakes are high and conditions are uncertain.
In many high-risk professions, people are trained extensively in procedures and technical decision-making, but far less in how they will experience stress, uncertainty, complexity, and sustained pressure in practice. My work focuses on that interface, helping to translate training and intent into effective outcomes.
Drawing on psychology, human factors, decision science, systems thinking, and field experience in extreme environments, I use data-driven approaches to identify patterns that may not be immediately visible. I am particularly interested in performance, adaptation, decision-making, team dynamics, and how emerging technologies can improve our understanding of human performance over time.
Depending on the context, my work may involve:
Performance Diagnostics & Insight
Identifying hidden drivers of performance, adaptation, and team functioning
Using multi-modal assessment approaches to identify meaningful patterns over time
Teams & Operations
Analysing communication, coordination, and team dynamics in practice
Supporting decision-making under uncertainty and sustained pressure
Contributing to team selection, role design, and readiness in high-stakes environments
Coaching & Consulting
Coaching leaders and professionals operating in demanding environments
Addressing team friction, misalignment, and performance barriers
Research & Development
Designing and conducting applied human performance research
Developing evidence-informed approaches to performance, adaptation, and assessment
Environments and challenges
Fatigue, isolation, and adaptation over time
Changing conditions and evolving operational plans
Team cohesion during prolonged missions
Bridging formal procedures and operational reality
Extreme and Remote Operations
Communication across distributed teams and systems
Human factors in mission-critical operations
Shared understanding, situational awareness, and trust
Decision-making under pressure and uncertainty
Workload management
Aerospace, Aviation and Space
Human-system interaction
Information overload and ambiguity
Technology adoption and trust
Decision-making with incomplete information or guidelines
High-Stakes Technical Environments
Sustaining vigilance during prolonged uncertainty
Rapid adaptation in changing conditions
Team readiness, trust, and role-fit
Decision-making in high-consequence environments
Collective effectiveness among highly capable individuals
Defence, Security and Public Safety
Decision fatigue and competing priorities
Organisational complexity and change
Communication across teams and functions
Building trust, alignment, and collective purpose
Sustanable performance without burnout
Leaders in Complex Systems
How I can help
Source Coherence spans three integrated areas:
Diagnostics, Consulting, and Coaching.
These approaches can be delivered independently or combined together depending on the challenge
The method
Source Diagnostics
01Identifying visible and invisible performance indicators
Using assessment, observation, and data-driven approaches to identify performance, communication, and coordination challenges that may not be visible through standard metrics alone
Coherence Consulting
02Improving decision-making and coordination in real-world conditions through research and advisory work.
Consulting and advisory work focused on improving judgement, coordination, and performance reliability in complex environments.
Executive and Performance Coaching
03Supporting leaders operating under complexity, responsibility, and sustained pressure
Coaching and training focused on decision-making, awareness, and performance under pressure, grounded in real-world operational conditions
Note that these three streams can be delivered separately or combined as required. Start the conversation here.
Examples of work supporting performance, decision-making, and team effectiveness in demanding environments.
If you're working in a complex environment and facing similar challenges, feel free to get in touch.
Examples of my work
Extreme and Remote Operations
Managing a Crew Crisis During
an Analog Mission
Context. During an analog mission in a remote environment, a serious issue involving a crew member began to affect both safety and mission functioning, requiring urgent decision-making. The situation was managed across remote support and on-site crew, with limited visibility into conditions on the ground.
Challenge. Mission leadership needed to respond quickly while balancing crew safety, operational priorities, and expectations from both internal and external stakeholders, without direct access to the environment.
Approach. I worked closely with the mission director to support real-time decision-making, clarify priorities, and coordinate action around crew management and extraction. I supported alignment between operational decisions and stakeholder communication to stabilise the situation.
Result. The crew member was extracted safely and promptly, while the remaining team were able to continue mission activities effectively. The response reduced uncertainty and maintained operational stability during a high-pressure situation.
Leaders in Complex Systems
Supporting Leadership Performance with a Fractured Team
Context. A senior leadership team in a global organisation was navigating a period of significant turbulence and needed support to maintain performance and cohesion.
Challenge. Leaders were managing increased uncertainty and difficult organisational dynamics, which was starting to affect the senior team and carry through into day-to-day operations.
Approach. Working closely with the client delivery lead, I co-designed and co-delivered a comprehensive leadership and resilience programme combining targeted assessments, input from specialists, and bespoke workshops. I generated leadership insight reports to help the team make sense of what was happening in practice and translate findings into clearer priorities and more sustainable ways of working.
Result. Leaders reported high value from the programme and demonstrated improvements in individual effectiveness and day-to-day operations.
Defence, Security, and Public Safety
Delivering Emotional Resilience Training for UK Military Personnel
Context. Military personnel frequently face sustained operational stress, yet support services often experience long wait lists and can struggle to reach people in ways that feel accessible.
Challenge. A military treatment centre was open to exploring new ways of delivering group-based resilience and peformance support that could reach more personnel while remaining practical and evidence-based.
Approach. I designed and delivered a structured group resilience and emotional regulation programme by drawing on CBT-informed tools adapted to the realities of military life and culture. The programme focused on developing practical skills for managing stress and workplace challenges while also creating space for peer support and shared experience.
Result. The programme was well received and embedded as part of ongoing support provision within the centre.
Professional Endorsements
Selected perspectives from people I’ve worked alongside in complex, high-stakes environments.
“Laura was instrumental to Flashline 2025 mission success from the planning phase onward, bringing sharp human-factors judgment and calm, practical leadership in an Arctic analog environment.
She consistently strengthened crew dynamics and helped resolve interpersonal and operational friction quickly and professionally, without escalating risk or distracting from mission objectives.
If I’m building a team for any high-stakes extreme-environment, "LT" is the expedition teammate and visionary leader you want.”
Terry Trevino
Aerospace Scientist & Mission Director, The Mars Society
Adjunct Professor, American Military University
“Laura was the driving force behind the success of our Optimal Leadership Resilience Programme, delivered to senior leaders and executive teams across several multinational organisations. She has a rare ability to bring together the different dimensions of resilience into a programme journey that feels both deeply grounded in science and immediately relevant in practice.
She was instrumental in selecting and applying assessment tools that gave leaders real insight into how they were operating, paired with clear, actionable ways to improve. What really set Laura apart was her ability to translate evidence and data into work that truly landed, from thoughtful feedback through to workshop design and facilitation, using practical engaging exercises that resonated under pressure.
Her work consistently connected with senior leaders navigating complex, high-stakes environments, making the programme not just credible, but deeply impactful.”
Neelam Sharma
Client Manager, MindGym
Former Head of Client Delivery, Happence
“Laura designed and piloted the programme that focused on building sustainable resilience practices and evidence-based coping strategies to help manage occupational stress and the psychological demands associated with operational roles.
I am impressed by her resounding successes in extreme operational environments, supporting individuals in adaptive problem-solving, cohesive team-working, and growth mindsets.”
Dr Jeya Balakrishna
Consultant Psychiatrist, UK Ministry of Defence, MBBS, FRCPsych, LLM
