Episode 108: Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief – More Harm Than Good?

Almost everyone has heard of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, her book On Death and Dying, and her five stages of grief. But are these stages accurate? Could the five stages of grief actually be doing more harm than good? Are they helping us to better understand what dying people go through or are they making it more difficult for us to truly understand and relate to them? Find out in this episode of The Psych Files.

Resources on Death and Dying

• • Wright, K. (2003). Relationships with death: The terminally ill talk about dying. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy; Oct 2003; 29, 4.
  • You can find books by Elisabeth Kubler Ross on Amazon
  • The Kubler Ross Foundation
  • We all grieve in our own way
  • The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss
  • More information on the Kubler Ross grief cycle can be found on this site.

• • This study employed a research approach called ethnography: “…a methodological strategy…which… does not prescribe any particular method (e.g. observation, interview, questionnaire), but instead prescribes the nature of the study (i.e. to describe people through writing). Ethnographic studies are usually holistic, founded on the idea that humans are best understood in the fullest possible context, including: the place where they live, the improvements they’ve made to that place, how they are making a living and providing food, housing, energy and water for themselves, what their marriage customs are, what language(s) they speak and so on.” – Wikipedia

• • Interesting video on YouTube of a little girl who expresses the stages of grief over the death of a pet fish.