Stress and health research
How sustained pressure affects attention, judgment and self-regulation.
The science behind TERRA
TERRA is the framework I developed to protect clarity of judgment and decision under sustained pressure. It draws on the mind-body science tradition established at Harvard Medical School, and on decades of research on stress and regulation.
The framework
One arc, five steps
T
Trigger
The situation that activates pressure.
E
Experience
What happens precisely within the person or the group: the invisible script.
R
Reactivity
What can be seen: the visible script, in behavior, tone and decisions.
R
Regulation
Deliberately restoring access to the reflective mind.
A
Action
A response that is chosen, clear and aligned.
The same reading applies to an individual leader and to the dynamics of a team, an executive committee or a board.
Foundations
What TERRA draws on
Mind-body medicine
The tradition established at Harvard Medical School, regulation and recovery.
Behavioral science
How reactions are triggered, maintained and changed.
Where it begins
The TERRA assessment
Every engagement begins with a short online assessment: 24 questions, about 5 to 7 minutes. It maps how sustained pressure affects judgment, decisions and action, and is taken again at the end to follow change over time. Results are read together in a debrief.