KüblerRoss

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004) was a Swiss-American psychiatrist and author who became a leading figure in the study of death and dying. Born in Zurich, she studied medicine at the University of Zurich and later moved to the United States, where she practiced psychiatry and focused on patients nearing the end of life. She helped popularize death education and contributed to the development of modern hospice and palliative care.

Kübler-Ross is best known for presenting the Five Stages of Grief in her 1969 book On Death and Dying, outlining denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance as common responses to terminal illness and bereavement. The stages are not considered universal or linear and may occur in different orders or not at all for some individuals.

The model influenced clinical practice, nursing, counseling, and patient-care discussions about end-of-life choices, but it has also faced critique for oversimplifying grief and not accounting for individual variation or cultural differences. Subsequent research emphasizes non-linear and highly individualized grief trajectories.

Beyond the Five Stages, Kübler-Ross authored several works on death and dying and advocated for compassionate care for the dying. She died on August 24, 2004, in Scottsdale, Arizona.