With a gradually increasing awareness of the need to deal with students' psychological health needs, Shanghai is pushing ahead with a major initiative to teach students and get counselors into schools at all levels — from primary through university.

Since early 2000, many education experts in the city have recognized the problem in a country that has not dealt very seriously with mental health. While the psychological condition of university students in general is considered within normal range, there are common problems among them that require help from professionals.

A textbook about the mental health of university students that will be released at the upcoming Shanghai Book Fair opening next Wednesday is being recommended for university psychology courses in Shanghai.

Written by psychologists from more than 10 universities in the city, it endeavors to bring together all the issues typical for university students. They include self-recognition, career planning, interpersonal relationships, sexual/love psychology, pressure management and coping with frustration.

"Psychological education is important in helping the students develop a healthy personality, which may pose impact on their entire life," says Professor Zhang Haiyan, deputy director of the Shanghai Students Psychological Health Education Development Center.

As requested by the Ministry of Education, psychology courses have been set in more than 60 universities in Shanghai to help students cope with their issues and offer guidance in study and work.

The new book is expected to be an improvement for educators and students, as it provides not only basic psychology theory, but also particular cases and problems common among university students in Shanghai.

"Some people may think we made the book because of many psychological problems among the university students, which is definitely not the case," says Professor Zhang, a co-author of the book.

According to Zhang, most of Shanghai's university students are psychologically positive. That conclusion is drawn from research she did on about 5,000 students ranging from undergraduates to doctoral degree candidates in Shanghai in 2008. A similar study of more than 60,000 students of all kinds in the city has been conducted by the center since last year. Preliminary results of the research show agreement with Zhang's conclusion from 2008.

"Surely there are psychological problems among the university students, but most of the issues are just natural for their age," says Zhang.

The purpose of offering university psychology courses is not for curing problems but for informing students of issues they may encounter and giving advice on how to cope when they happen, either to themselves or to their friends.

Problems with self-recognition, interpersonal relationships and romance are among the most frequently raised questions by university students in consultations.

For example, many students who were elites in high school may find themselves not so outstanding in universities, where they are surrounded by equally smart classmates. When they fail to adjust to that new reality, they are likely to take their failure in study as failure in life, which may lead to self-denial and self-contempt.

"Some students consider high scores in class the only way to success, which is definitely not the case," says Zhang. "Recognizing their weak points, identifying themselves properly and setting realistic goals ... are the most recommended way to cope with the problem. Without guidance, some students just give up and indulge themselves in video games and procrastination."