Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross published 24 books in 44 languages, including seminal book, “On Death and Dying” which, even today, is required reading in most major medical, nursing, and psychology programmes. In her expansive body of work as a psychiatrist, humanitarian and hospice pioneer, Kübler-Ross discussed care and support for the seriously ill, their families, the grieving and all who struggle with the effects of loss. Over 10 million copies of her books have been sold.
Although best known for the so-called “stage theory” Kübler-Ross wrote "On Death and Dying" to describe some key emotional reactions to the experience of the dying. It was never a study of grief and bereavement and over the years the idea of "5 stages" has been simplified and caricatured beyond recognition, despite Kübler-Ross’s own repeated warnings that grief is not linear and many of these “stages” overlap, oc
To emphasise this conditional way of talking about stages, the word “stages” was even put in inverted commas to emphasise their tentative nature in the only diagrammatic representation of these ideas in the book.
The Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation is a non-profit organisation inspired by the life of Kübler-Ross. Founded one year after her death in 2005 by her son, Ken Ross, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation chapters have been created on four continents. They continue her mission to develop hospice, palliative care, and grief support. In 2019, most of Kübler-Ross’ archives were donated to Stanford University which will create a digital library to make her papers available to the public.