Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth (1926-2004), a Swiss-born American psychiatrist, became known for her groundbreaking work on the psychology of the dying. She wrote the best-selling book On Death and Dying, published in 1969. In the book, she described five psychological stages that she found people often experience when faced with the knowledge of their coming death. The five stages are, in order: (1) denial, (2) anger, (3) bargaining, (4) depression, and (5) acceptance. She found that people often go through the same five stages in grieving the death of a loved one.
Early in her career, Kübler-Ross worked in hospitals, where she was disturbed by the treatment of dying patients. Many physicians avoided any discussion of death, even with patients who had no hope of recovery. Terminally (fatally) ill patients were often left alone in the difficult process of facing their own death. To address this, Kübler-Ross held a series of seminars for medical staff in which terminally ill patients spoke openly about their feelings and experiences as they approached death. Her work challenged physicians to take a more supportive and thoughtful approach to care for the dying. Her work also helped in the development of other measures of care for the dying, such as living wills, palliative care, and the introduction of hospice care in the United States.
Beginning in the 1970’s, Kübler-Ross began exploring her personal interest in mysticism, life after death, and alternative forms of therapy as she continued to write more than 20 books on dying. Her important books include Questions and Answers on Death and Dying (1974), Death: The Final Stage of Growth (1975), To Live Until We Say Good-bye (1978), On Children and Death (1983), and AIDS: The Ultimate Challenge (1987).
Elisabeth Kübler was born in Zurich, Switzerland, on July 8, 1926. Her experiences working with refugees during World War II (1939-1945) inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. She earned her medical degree from the University of Zurich in 1957. In 1958, she married Emanuel Ross, an American doctor, and moved with him to the United States, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1961. Over her career, she held many positions at universities and medical centers in New York City, Denver, Chicago, and in California, Virginia, and Arizona. She died on Aug. 24, 2004.
See also Death (Attitudes about death) .
