Susan Welsh (asker) Dec 19, 2012:

Input from a professional family therapist I asked a relative who's a family therapist, and I think her answer is interesting, so I post it here:
"It's like the Jeopardy Game for psychology!
"I don't know of an official term for it, but I myself use stones and call them `touchstones' to remind a client of something they want to remember to do or think. `Affirmation' makes sense in this context. Or `centering.' It strikes me that `courage' as a centering thought is Germanically culturally appropriate, but that other cultures would use a different word (wisdom, for example). I'm interpreting this as understanding that one's self is strong, can take on whatever comes in one's path. We Americans call that `self-esteem,' too, or `self-worth.'
"I like `affirmation' as a generalizable term.
"This is always fun! Keeps me mindful that concepts in mental health are, to a great extent, socially constructed and that language reflects that."

I really like her word "touchstone," although I find only one place online where it is actually used to mean a physical stone: http://www.iveylian.com/portfolio/touchstone/