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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
- 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.
- Here is the text of an interview with Elisabeth Kubler Ross
- 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.
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Hi Dr. Britt,
I just want to share with you that this is, I think, your most beautiful episode.
Recently, my grandfather had just passed away, and this episode really gives me a different prospective to the whole situation.
Thank you
Sean
Sean – thank you so much for your very kind note. I appreciate you sharing this with me and I’m very glad that the episode was helpful to you.
Hello Dr. Britt,
I wanted to let you know that I think you are brilliant! You crack me up! I always thought people in the psychology field were stuffy, uptight type of people. I am sorry for my generalized thought. You have totally changed my mind! Your programs on mnemonics are great! very fascinating & they do work! Psychology has always been a hobby of mine. Thanks for the help & keeping it interesting! I appreciate your gallant effort to empower & enlighten people. Thank you for your time & patience!!
Peace, Nici
Nici: thanks so much! What a great message to get first thing in the morning. Yea – I think we can be a weird bunch (psychologists) given how we are portrayed in the media. Glad you enjoyed the mnemonics episodes too. Thanks so much!
Hi Michael,
I just wanted to say that I thought you did a really great job with this episode. It obviously moved you and must be a very challenging topic to address as a professional carer for others.
Thanks and well done.