China is training a first group of marriage counselors for the "save the marriage" project in an attempt to cope with the rising number of marital and family problems.

The project, initiated in February by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) Human Resources Development Center and the China International Marriage & Family Association, aims to "develop millions of professional counselors" for Chinese families.

According to government figures, China's divorce rate has risen each year since 2002. A total of 1.785 million couples broke up last year, up 7.2 percent on the previous year.

"In my opinion, most couples make the wrong decision to divorce." He Haiyuan, a lawyer specializing in divorce lawsuits, said, "About 60 percent of my cases are about emotional problems and family conflicts."

"If I was adept at marriage psychology, I could've helped at least half of them get back together. But I could only try my best in a legalistic kind of way," he said.

Many married couples are riven by domestic violence and psychological problems, psychological counselors said.

"Society is changing so much, people's ideas of what marriage is are being challenged," Wang Kaiyu, minister in charge of Anhui Social Sciences Academy Social Structure Research Center, said, "We should lead couples in the right direction and try to solve their problems."

According to sources from ACWF, being a marriage and family counselor is not the same as being a psychological consultant. Besides psychology and professional training, marriage and family counselors must have a good grasp of sociology, physiology, marriage law, marriage culture and parenthood education. They must know how to communicate effectively with their clients and give good advice.

Hou, a teacher from a Xi'an-based training center, said there are two levels of student enrollment. To be certified, all students must do three months' theoretical study and a half-month practice and then pass the ACWF examination.

Statistics show that about 90 percent of current applicants are women with 35 percent motivated by the opportunity to earn a good salary in this new job.

"The consultant market is growing rapidly in China, but the marriage and family sector is only at its beginnings," said Li Min, a training program graduate. "We will try to be more professional, though it will need time before the marriage counselor's role is widely accepted."

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2006)