The
use of prayer beads in psychotherapy
Mental
Health, Religion & Culture, Volume 2009, 12(4),
359 – 368
Uri
Wernik[1]
Abstract
The history and the varieties of positive
thinking interventions in psychotherapy are discussed. It is suggested that the
measures used to install positive self statements are limited. Until now there
are no reports of using prayer beads for this purpose. The use of prayer beads
in different cultures and religions is described and three cases of using
prayer beads in therapy are presented. The promising results are understood in
terms of ritual. Further directions of research are proposed. The very process
of preparing prayer beads benefits the therapeutic relationship, creating an
opportunity for playful and creative interaction between client and therapist.
Keywords: psychotherapy; prayer
beads; ritual; positive thinking; healing.
The pre-historic rock art depictions of healing
ceremonies suggest that the art of healing was known already in the dawn of
human history (Clottes & Lewis-Williams, 1998). It seems that communities,
in different cultures and throughout civilization’s developmental stages, had
always allocated to some members the role of communicating with the spirit
world, and treating physical or mental illnesses (Vitebsky, 1995).
Such healers were known
throughout the ages as shamans, seers,
Some of the shared
elements are: an uncommon relationship between client-seeker and
therapist-healer, the prestige and authority of the latter, an explanation of
problems in terms of a shared world view and the prescription of medicine or
action. Not only can ritual healing be reduced to primitive psychotherapy, but contemporary
psychotherapies might be viewed as ritual processes through which a small
segment of modern society receives ritual leadership in times of crisis (
As a result of the
growing recognition that racial, religious and ethnic minority groups have
their own illness perceptions and constructions of treatments to solve physical
and mental health issues, there are now more attempts at integrating
traditional healing practices into counseling and psychotherapy. In addition,
the spread of contemporary alternative health care movements such as paganism,
New Age Spirituality and other new religious movements became an impetus to the
development of multicultural counseling or trans-cultural psychotherapy, in
which rituals have a central place (Moodley and West, 2005).
While
This article continues in four sections. The
first one will discuss negative and positive thinking. Negative thinking is
presumed to be the cause of many psychological problems. Instituting positive
thinking is a central ingredient of the cognitive-behavioral therapies, or
Positive thinking: from idea to practice
One of the
Beck's cognitive theory
of depression was later extended to cover a variety of anxiety related
problems. His theory states that depressed or anxious people are biased towards
negative interpretations. They acquire, in particular early life situations, a
negative schema of the world and/or themselves. These schemas are readily
activated in similar situations Beck, Emery & Greenberg, 1985). Beck uses
the term ‘negative triad’ to describe the combination of negative schemas and
cognitive biases and their mutual reinforcement. Among the cognitive biases he
includes the following: arbitrary inference, selective abstraction,
overgeneralization, magnification and minimization.
Positive thinking is
also an important tool of intervention in the Ericksonian, humanist, Gestalt,
transpersonal, transactional-analysis, EMDR (Eye Movement and Reprocessing
Desensitization) and recovery-work approaches to psychotherapy. Since the
1970’s positive thinking became popular in self-help, medicine, sports and
business best-selling books.
Muster (2002) who
studied the history of positive thinking, explored its secular and religious
roots. The secular Positive Thinking Move
The source of all these
varieties of positive thinking is in Greek Stoic philosophy and Epictetus
(55-135, CA) in particular. He is the one who taught us in his Manual for
Life (Enchiridion) that, “We are disturbed not by events, but by the
views which we take of them” (1995). From this magnum opus stems the
recommendation to carefully examine our own interpretations and in terms of his
lovely simile, choose the right handle (thought, value or statements) of a
pot’s (dilemma) two handles: one suitable, the other detrimental to us.
It is difficult not to accept the rationale of
positive thinking. In practical terms
though, we are immediately confronted with a problem: people have a long
history of repeating negative thoughts a few ti
Cognitive and behavior
therapies are skilled in challenging negative thoughts and stopping them.
Usually noxious stimuli (e.g. shouting ‘No’; and banging ones hand on the
table) or distracting responses (e.g. doing push-ups or listening to music) are
suggested for that purpose. The measures currently in use to promote positive
thoughts originated with Emile Coué (1857-1926), a French phar
Like many new
developments Couéism had its heyday being popular and with reports of success,
but with time it became, rightly so or not, obsolete. Couéism however, is still
the main ingredient in different hypnotic and directed-imagery techniques,
where new positive thoughts are “installed.” Yet, suggestion-base techniques
assume a patient’s suggestibility, and this is often not the case. Besides,
insights tend to wear off and old schemas tend to reawaken in times of
crisis. We are still confronted with
the challenge of making new positive thoughts more deeply rooted.
It is actually
surprising that until now there are no reports of trying to incorporate prayer
beads, used in many religions and cultures for the very purpose of
internalizing beliefs and statements, into therapy. Using a medical analogy, I
would say that with good drugs the problem is often finding an effective
delivery method (patch or pill versus injection). This article suggests that
prayer beads can serve as an alternative and
effective delivery method, helping to substitute negative thinking with
positive one.
Fro
The history of prayer beads was studied by
Dubin (1987). According to him, prayer
beads are used by followers of
Prayer beads are so
Necklaces of beads were
Prayer beads are basically
a
Volz (1907) in his
encyclopedic article reviews the use of beads in the different religions: The
earliest religious use of prayer beads is found in Hinduis
In Buddhism the prayer beads are considered to be a m eans of helping com m on m ortals advance in their practice. The basic num ber of beads is 108, which is said to represent the num ber of earthly desires which com m on m ortals have. Often fewer beads are used, divisors of 108 such as 27 or 36. In China such strings are nam ed Shu-Zu ("Counting Beads") and in Japan
In Isla
In Christianity prayer
beads went through a long process of evolution. The Desert Fathers (third to
fifth century) already used knotted ropes to count prayers, typically The
Lord’s Prayer. The practice is attributed either to St Anthony or to St Achro
Mala beads
spread beyond religion into popular culture where they are known as power
beads, love, or peace beads and are used together with
incense and other things Indian to create an at
The use of beads in therapy
The equipment used to produce healing beads is
elementary: some nylon string, a pair of scissors and a collection of
The penis,
At the end of our first
The penis can be seen
metaphorically as man’s best friend. Not only does it give hi
A. agreed to put sex as
an athletic activity on hold, and try to find a girl friend instead. However,
he was still anxious and worried about what will happen once they go to bed
together. Although he was rationally convinced that he didn’t have any problem
(which was easily de
Three constructive
state
§
Red: My friend (the
penis) is independent and not under
§
Purple: I a
§
Green: I hope to have
emotionally and physically satisfying relationships.
A. was supposed to use beads and repeat the
corresponding statements any time he found himself thinking about sex. At our
follow-up session I was surprised to learn that A. had worn the string as a
foot bracelet, not taking it off for the last two
I a
B. felt that she was
abnor
Understanding the
proble
B. grew up in a religiously devout fa
§
I love
§
The ‘unconscious’ has
its own ways of preventing violence against children.
§
My thoughts are not
under
§
I a
The last state
As for B., in two weeks
ti
Why did you leave me?: C.
is a successful graphic designer. Since his first love relationship ended,
separation was felt as a devastating experience. He used to be
C. was in an a
His own atte
§
Red: Re
§
Green: How good it was
while it lasted.
§
Blue: The relationship
is over now.
§
Purple: I a
§
Yellow: She continues
with her life as if nothing happened.
§
White: I want to go on
with
The white bead had a twist to it. C. couldn’t
start with this wish as it contradicted his negative feelings, but once giving
the
C. has not found a new
love yet and he still thinks occasionally about D. although in a less sorrowful
Prayer beads, rituals
and healing
This article demonstrates the integration into
psychotherapy of prayer beads. Now that the challenge of instituting positive
self-statements, instead of negative ones, was
clarified; the uses of prayer beads in different religions and cultures was
described; the application of the latter to the former documented in three case
studies, we must suggest how this application fostered change and how is it
different from the customary cognitive-behavioral protocol.
We
must start with reservations. The cases presented here must only be considered
as de
These reservations
notwithstanding, this work suggests that ritual can best explain the positive
results. The three subjects described, did not just listen to the therapists’
statements, or repeat them on their own; they did actually perform a ritual.
The literature on rituals is vast, coming from the disciplines of religion,
sociology, anthropology, archeology and psychology.
Ritual is [1] a culturally constructed system
of symbolic communication. [2] It is constituted of patterned and ordered
sequences of words and acts, often expressed in the multiple media, whose
content and arrangement are characterized in varying degree by formality
(conventionally), stereotypy (rigidity), condensation (fusion), and redundancy
(repetition).[3] Ritual action in its constitutive features is performative in
these three senses: in the Austinian sense of performative, wherein saying
something is also doing something as a conventional act; [4] in the quite
different sense of staged performance that uses multiple media by which the
participants experience the event intensively; and [5] in the sense of
indexical values” (p.128).
In light of this
definition it is plausible that the following factors characterize the ritual
use of prayer beads as compared with the current cognitive-behavioral therapy
measures:
[1] The use of prayer
beads is culturally associated with religious rituals, and the latter are
associated with supernatural powers. The
beads are similar to amulets worn as protection from evil. The initial tying of
a string of beads around a person’s wrist has a ritualistic character too. Only
recently did I learn that certain Rabbis tie a red string around the wrist of
those seeking their blessing. Kwan (2007) reviewed research findings on the
relationship between ritual and healing, concluding that the clinical efficacy
of ritual is best explained by invoking the concepts of self-healing and
placebo. The ritual itself, combined with faith in the healer and expectations
for improvement stimulate the subjects’ capacity for self-healing. Thus the
ritual use of prayer beads might be more effective than a rational dry
explanation at triggering this capacity.
[2] Hypnosis and
self-hypnosis are also based on a repetition of “patterned and ordered
sequences of words,” as in Coué’s famous mantra. The same happens in using
prayer beads with the addition of tactile (grasping of beads) and visual (their
different colors) involvement. Thus, the subject enters a relaxed state (“worry
beads”) of heightened receptiveness to new ideas, similar to what occurs with
meditation mantras.
[3] Interventions in
cognitive-behavioral therapy are based on verbal exchanges between therapist
and client, in an analytical-rational mode of information processing. It could
only be hypothesized that the ritual use of beads assists in rendering a
verbalization performative, that is, the client is doing something with her or his
body and grasping something concrete while repeating the predetermined ideas.
This makes a stronger impact, just as in learning--reading a text aloud and/or
copying it in writing is more effective than reading only.
[4] Lacking an
audience, the performance in this case is less of a drama compared with rituals
carried out in public. And yet, it could be viewed as an intra-personal drama,
with the ‘audience’ being the aspect of self characterized by holding of the
negative schema. Often though, when the beads are visible, when used as a
bracelet for example, they turn into a conversation piece--a “mini-drama” in
which the reactions of others to the explanation given reinforce the positive
messages.
[5] Each colored bead
serves as an index of a particular statement. Thus complex statements can be
transmitted and remembered. This can also be considered as a mnemotechnic
device, in which messages are anchored or associates with a specific concrete
object.
In addition to the above factors, the very
problem a client presents in therapy is in many cases a ritual. In
obsessive-compulsive disorders for example, thoughts and activities are
repeated in a rigid stereotyped manner. The problem of negative thinking
discussed in this article can be understood as detrimental uncontrollable
rituals. It can only be speculated that
the ritual of using prayer beads is effective as it substitutes one ritual with
another.
The clinical vignettes
and their understanding in terms of ritual point to the need for additional
research:
It can already be said
that beyond the apparent direct effect of fostering change in the target
problem, the whole process of articulation of state
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