Volunteer psychologists have saved 313 couples in Shanghai's Songjiang District from divorcing since last June, officials said.

Couples applying for a divorce at Songjiang Marriage Administrative Office are offered free counseling with psychological consultants from the district's Psychological Consultant Association.

"One function of the sessions is to calm impulsive couples and stop them from quarreling, help analyze the real reasons for their divorce and develop a way to help save their marriage," said Zhang Zhiping, director of the marriage office.

"If both parties decide they will divorce, the consultants will provide suggestions on access to children and division of property to guarantee a smooth divorce procedure. It's unnecessary for divorced couples to behave like enemies."

Zhang said one-third of couples in the district were willing to receive psychological aid. The 313 families saved from divorce accounted for 70 percent of the total.

Wang Ying, secretary of the psychological association, said the new regulations on marriage registration have made divorce much easier.

"The new regulations allow a divorce to be completed within one day. Our divorce counseling service offers a buffer period to give couples the chance to reconsider," she said. Last year, 1,128 couples in the district got divorced, a rate that has increased steadily since 2003.

(Shanghai Daily August 26, 2008)