Applied psychology for high-stakes, complex, and frontier environments
Supporting performance, adaptation, and decision-making across operational, high-consequence, and frontier 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, 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 adaptation, decision-making, team dynamics, and how emerging technologies can improve our understanding of human performance over time.
What I do in practice
Performance Diagnostics & Insights
Identifying hidden drivers of performance, adaptation, and team effectiveness
Using integrated, multi-modal assessment to reveal meaningful patterns over time
Teams & Operations
Turning highly capable individuals into highly effective teams
Improving communication, coordination, and team dynamics in practice
Supporting team selection, role design, and operational readiness
Coaching & Consulting
Supporting professionals operating under pressure, uncertainty, and responsibility
Addressing performance barriers, team friction, and decision challenges
Research & Development
Designing and conducting applied human performance research
Developing evidence-informed approaches to assessment and performance
Environments and challenges
Fatigue, isolation, and adaptation over time
Changing conditions and evolving operational plans
Team cohesion and coordination during prolonged missions
Bridging formal procedures with operational realities
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, automation, and trust
Decision-making with incomplete information or guidelines
High-Stakes Technical Environments
Sustaining vigilance during prolonged uncertainty
Rapid adaptation to changing priorities and 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
Sustainable 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
Support Areas
Performance Diagnostics
01Identifying hidden drivers of performance, adaptation, and team effectiveness.
Using assessment, observation, and data-informed approaches to uncover patterns that influence individual, team, and system performance over time.
Team & Organisational Consulting
02Improving decision-making, coordination, and performance reliability in complex environments.
Advisory support focused on human factors, team dynamics, readiness, and performance challenges where uncertainty and consequence matter.
Executive & Performance Coaching
03Supporting leaders and professionals operating under pressure, responsibility, and uncertainty
Coaching focused on self-awareness, decision-making, adaptability, and effective performance in demanding contexts.
Note that these three streams can be delivered separately or combined as required. Start the conversation here.
Examples of my work
The examples below illustrate some of the environments, challenges, and human performance questions I have supported in practice.
If any of these challenges sound familiar, let’s talk
Extreme and Remote Operations
Managing a Crew Crisis During
an Analog Mission
Context. During a remote analog mission, a serious issue began affecting both crew wellbeing and mission objectives, The situation unfolded in a complex environment with limited visibility of conditions on the ground, requiring careful coordination between on-site crew and remote support personnel.
Challenge. Mission leadership needed to respond quickly while balancing crew safety, mission priorities, and the expectations of several stakeholders.
Approach. I worked closely with mission leadership to support decision-making, clarify priorities, and coordinate action during a rapidly escalating situation. Alongside supporting the mission response, I helped ensure that the crew members involved received appropriate support immediately following the incident and post-return.
Result. The situation was resolved safely, the crew felt supported, and mission activities were able to resume again with greater stability.
Leaders in Complex Systems
Supporting Leadership Performance with a Fractured Team
Context.A senior leadership team within a global organisation was navigating a period of significant turbulence. Relationships within the team were deteriorating and affecting both morale and day-to-day operations.
Challenge. The leadership team needed support to improve communication, rebuild trust, and work more effectively together during a period of uncertainty.
Approach. Working alongside the client delivery lead, I co-designed a comprehensive leadership and resilience programme combining targeted assessments, specialist input, and tailored workshops. The work focused on helping leaders to better understand team dynamics, rebuild trust, and develop more effective and sustainable ways of working together.
Result. Leaders reported stronger working relationships, clearer priorities, and improved day-to-day effectiveness.
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 immediately accessible.
Challenge. A military treatment centre wanted to explore new ways of delivering resilience and performance support that could reach more personnel while remaining practical and evidence-based.
Approach. I designed and delivered a structured resilience and emotional regulation group 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 challenges, 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
