All tracks. triage pressure, choose the right reader track, and produce one useful output before reading deeply.
Use the Cognitive Resonance Model (CRM) when pressure is making it hard to separate facts, meaning, trust, capacity, and action. Do not begin by explaining the whole model. Begin by producing one small, truthful record of the pressure.
First usable output. Write eight lines: what happened; what I expected; what meaning this threatens; which source I am trusting; whether I have capacity; what false closure is tempting; what truthful action is possible now; when this needs review. If the situation is red, stop the reflection and move to safety, reporting, qualified care, or formal process.
Choose Your Track
The model can be read from front to back, but it is built for selective use. Choose one track first. Every track shares the same safety rule: green pressure can be processed simply, yellow pressure needs support and review, and red pressure moves to safety, protection, qualified care, or formal process before interpretation.
The tracks overlap, but their outputs differ. A person in grief needs a bounded next step. A mentor needs a safer conversation. A team needs records and accountability. A researcher needs operational definitions. A Christian discernment use needs truthful response before God without using religious language to bypass reality.
- Track | Read in this order | Use it to produce
- Individual | Start Here; One-Page Field Guide; Casebook; Workbook Appendix. | One event sentence, one breach profile, one truthful action, one review date.
- Pastor / mentor | Field Protocol; Facilitator Posture; Severity Rules; Casebook. | A conversation that separates event, interpretation, source, capacity, and agency without forcing meaning.
- Institution / team | Communal and Institutional Use; Institutional Incident Worksheet; Proposed Study Portfolio. | Preserved records, named protected meaning frame, independent review where needed, structural correction, and follow-up rhythm.
- Researcher | Formal Model Specification; Coding Manual; Research Program; Claim Card; Reference Map. | Coded cases, reliability targets, proposed studies, outcome measures, safeguards, and revision triggers.
- Christian discernment | Executive Summary; False Resonance; Field Protocol; Christian Discernment Use. | Truthful response before God: evidence faced, conscience clarified, lament honored, sin named, protection preserved, action chosen.
Track discipline. Do not use the wrong track to avoid the real task. An individual track is not enough for abuse. A pastoral track is not a substitute for mandated care or reporting. An institutional track must not let the institution become judge of its own evidence. A research track must not turn suffering into data without ethics. A Christian discernment track must not use spiritual language to bypass evidence, protection, lament, confession, or repair.
Related research
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