Low arousal approach

A low arousal approach deals with how staff handles patients who are easily aroused (in a non-sexual sense). These approaches aim to make staff avoid confrontational situations and to, instead, go for the path of least resistance'. A low arousal approach deals with how staff handles patients who are easily aroused (in a non-sexual sense). These approaches aim to make staff avoid confrontational situations and to, instead, go for the path of least resistance'. The philosophy of low arousal approaches is one of non-confrontation. In high-risk situations, responses that reduce arousal are adopted by carers and staff, especially when confronted by distressed individuals. These approaches became popular in services for people with intellectual disabilities in the UK in the mid-1990s. This humanistic and person-centred approach to crisis management was developed in response to the use of restrictive responses to crises such as restraint, seclusion, and chemical restraint. The avoidance of sanctions- and of consequence-based punishment strategies became an implicit part of the approach. A number of different strategies are employed in healthcare settings for the management of challenging behaviour. A theoretical rationale for a collection of short-term non-aversive behaviour management strategies described as low arousal approaches is to avoid the use of punishing consequences to behaviour.