[Rituals in therapy, rituals in our lives]

The authors review the history of rituals and their healing and preventive role within the community in a comprehensive study. They illustrate with examples the rituals employed in therapy and discuss their classification. They also touch upon the different methods used in family psychotherapy and the function of rituals. In our modern society, there is a lack of rituals at each transition from one life cycle to another, but there is a particular scarcity of coming of age rituals in adolescence. In the authors' view therapists should not only become familiar with rituals but should also be able to use the healing power of rituals occasionally in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses and crises.