BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — Inside a yurt that was lavishly appointed with local prayer rugs and felt tapestries, a young man prepared for a ritual that is catching on here as a solution to a global problem but is, well, grounded in local tradition.

“Rock,” the young man said, “I admit that I am a drug addict.” On a carpet in front of the man sat the object he was speaking to: a river stone, rounded and mottled green, about the size of a loaf of bread.

A psychologist sat nearby, coaxing the addict — a lawyer who wanted only his first name, Arman, made public — to go further. The mood was somber.

“Stone, I give you my anger and my aggression,” Arman said. “I give you all my negative qualities that appeared from smoking opium.”