There appears to be a promising new occupation in China. The occupation of marriage consultant is growing as more and more married couples need professional guidance to help them face their problems. The All-China Women’s Federation released this information recently. In May, they opened training classes on marriage consultation in Beijing. The goal of the courses is to spread the professional knowledge to those would-be marriage consultants.
So Why The Change?
The Ministry of Civil Affairs released statistics that showed the Chinese divorce rate rising annually since 2002. The numbers for 2005 show that 1.78 million Chinese couples were divorced, that’s 120,000 more couples than in 2004.
At the same time as the divorce rate was rising, there was a decline in the number of registered marriages. The statistics indicate that the number of registered marriages dropped by 441,000. The number of registered marriages was around 8,231,000 – that still seems like a lot in comparison to how many were divorced – still, if 8.2 million were married and 1.78 million were divorced – that’s 20%.
How Will Marriage Consultation Help?
Ideally marriage consultants will be well versed in psychological knowledge, marriage culture, and education on children in divorced families as well as Marriage Law. Consultants will be required to give professional suggestions based on a series of scientific tests they can administer. Among their tests are anxiety index, marriage relationship and character analysis.
They may also lead the couple in guided meditations for unity. Their knowledge base will extend past just the emotional needs of the couple. They will be providing the couples with their legal knowledge as it applies to property division and child fosterage if they elect to divorce.
Interestingly enough, it sounds like a marriage consultant is equal parts marriage counselor, therapist and attorney – providing the couple with what they need to either begin repairing their marriage or dissolve it.
The average consultation costs about 300 Yuan and can go to about 800 Yuan. In U.S. dollars that’s a range of $37.50 to $100 per consultation.
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