Sixty primary and middle school guidance counselors in the quake-hit Sichuan Province began a five-day professional training on Monday to enable them to better help traumatized students recover.

The trainees came from 10 counties or cities severely hit by the May 12 quake last year. They will receive training on mental health, emotion management and therapeutic consulting at the Southwest China University of Nationalities in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

The lectures, organized by the Sichuan Educational Department, will be given for free by psychological experts from Southwest China University for Nationalities, Sichuan University and some medical research institutions in the United States.

Rao Hui, a teacher from Mianzhu Jiulong School, said children in the quake zone still had not fully recovered from the trauma caused by the quake, which left more than 80,000 dead or missing.

"Helping children alleviate psychological pressure is a common task that teachers face," she said. "It is necessary to receive more professional training."

Sichuan will carry out the five-day training twice a year over the next three years, with 60 trainees at each session, to improve their professionalism, according to the provincial educational authority.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2009)