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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about Elisabeth K眉bler-Ross

Dr Elisabeth K眉bler-Ross was a psychiatrist whose pioneering work with terminally ill patients helped to revolutionize attitudes toward the care of the dying.

She is credited with helping end centuries-old taboos in western culture against openly discussing and studying death. Furthermore, she helped change the case of many terminally ill patients to make death less psychologically painful; not only for the dying but also for the doctors and nurses and not least for the survivors.

Although the care she sought was by no means universal, she profoundly changed the way the medical profession is asked to look at death. Her ideas are transferrable to varying degrees and in different ways, to personal change and emotional upset resulting from factors other than death and dying.

The psychiatrist has been impactful to the hospice community and her legacy is still felt to this day.

Here are the top 10 astonishing facts about her.

1. Elisabeth is one of three triplet girls

Elisabeth had a unique childhood as one of three triplets girls born in Zurich, Switzerland on July 8, 1926. Although the girls were all extremely small at birth, their mother, Emmy Viliger K眉bler closely attended to their physical needs and ensured their survival.

Elisabeth, her sisters and her older brother grew up in a strict but loving household. Their father Ernst K眉bler expected obedience from his children. He also took them on hikes in the Swiss mountains, instilling a great love of nature in his daughter Elisabeth.

One of Elisabeth鈥檚 main concerns as she grew up was finding a way to distinguish herself from her sisters. This search for a unique identity was hampered by the fact that she was physically identical to her sister Erika and the two were often mistaken for each other.

She would frequently escape to her favourite spot in the woods to enjoy some time away from her sisters and she also tried to develop interests that would set her apart.  

2. Elisabeth had a planned career in psychiatry

University of Z眉rich (Switzerland) main building as seen from the south photo by Roland zh –

Experiences after the war convinced her that her life鈥檚 calling was to heal others. She firmly believed that spiritual and mental health was a necessary part of healing the physical body and incorporated these interests into her planned career as a psychiatrist. She enrolled in medical school at the University of Zurich in 1951 and graduated in 1957.

She then moved with her husband Emmanuel Robert Ross to New York.

Elisabeth began a three-year residency in psychiatry at Manhattan state hospital. In her work at psychiatric hospitals, she attempted to use a more personal way of communicating and this approach yielded improvements even in the case of people suffering from acute psychoses.

3. She rebelled against her father鈥檚 wish

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From a young age, Elisabeth was determined to become a doctor despite her father鈥檚 efforts to force her to become a secretary for his business. She refused him and against his wishes she left home at the age of 16.

She began working as a housemaid for a mean woman, where she met a doctor who wished to help her in becoming a doctor.

4. Elisabeth worked as a laboratory assistant for refugees

During World War II, Elisabeth worked as a laboratory assistant for refugees in Zurich at only 13 years of Age.

Following the war, she did relief work in France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Poland. She would later visit the Maidanek extermination camp in Poland in 1954, which sparked her interest in the power of compassion and resilience of the human spirit.

The horror stories of the survivors left permanent impressions on Elisabeth and contributed to her decision in dedicating her life to the help and healing of others.

She was also profoundly affected by the images of butterflies carved into some of the walls there too. To Elisabeth the butterflies, these final works of art of those facing death stayed with her for years and influenced her thinking about the end of life. During the same year, she also became involved with the International Voluntary Service for peace as an activist.

5. Elisabeth published a landmark book about dying

She published her groundbreaking book, On Death and Dying, based on her years of research and work in 1969.

The book introduced the well-known five stages of grief that are widely used today to help people cope with death. Her support for the dying led to the rally behind the national hospice organization.

K眉bler-Ross believed that individuals needed to experience every stage of their final days to resolve an issue before they died. She was firmly against euthanasia and eventually founded a centre to help the dying accept their last moments in a peaceful and healing way.

Elisabeth spent the latter part of her academic career exploring other aspects of death and dying, including out-of-body experiences and methods of communicating with the deceased.

6. She is honoured for pioneering work in psychiatry

Elisabeth is honoured for pioneering work in psychiatry. A pioneer in near-death studies and the author of the groundbreaking book On Death and Dying (1969), Elisabeth first discussed what is now known as the K眉bler-Ross model.

In this work, she proposed the now famous five stages of Grief as a pattern of adjustment. Those five stages of grief are Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

The five stages have since been adopted into the K眉bler-Ross change curve by many corporations to train employees in change and loss. In 1970, she delivered, The Ingersoll Lecture on human immortality at the University of Harvard, on the theme, On Death and Dying.

During the 1970s and 1980s, she helped initiate more than 50 psychiatric hospices around the world.

7. She initiated the first Prison hospice in Vacaville, California

Aerial view of the city of Vacaville, California. photo by Dcoetzee –

During the 1970s and 1980s, she helped initiate more than 50 hospices around the world. In 1985, she initiated the world鈥檚 first prison hospice in Vacaville, California.

8. She advocated for spiritual guides and the afterlife

Elisabeth also dealt with the phenomenon of near-death experiences. She was an advocate for spiritual guides and the afterlife, serving on the Advisory Board of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS).

9. Elisabeth suffered a series of strokes that left her paralyzed

K眉bler-Ross suffered a series of strokes between 1987 and 1995 which eventually left her partially paralyzed on her left side. After the Virginia house fire and subsequent stroke, she moved down to Scottsdale, Arizona in October 1994.

Elisabeth died at a nursing home in Scottsdale on August 24, 2004, aged 78.

10. She was inducted into the National women鈥檚 Hall of Fame

Interior of the en:National Women’s Hall of Fame photo by DanielPenfield – Wikimedia commons

K眉bler-Ross was a 2007 inductee into the National Women鈥檚 Hall of Fame. She was named by Time as one of the 鈥�100 most important thinkers鈥� of the 20th century and was the recipient of nineteen honorary degrees.

By July 1982, she had taught 125,000 students in death and dying courses in colleges, seminaries, medical schools, hospitals and social-work institutions.