Srinagar, June 11 -- Zahid Ashraf lives in a modest neighbourhood tucked between the dusty roads of Zafran Colony, Sempora, a short drive from Srinagar. His home doesn't have a signboard, and he doesn't call himself a therapist. Still, people come.

They come with heavy hearts, scattered thoughts, and stories they haven't told anyone else. Zahid listens. That's where it starts.

"I'm not a doctor," he says, "but I can sit with someone and say: what you're feeling, it's okay. It has a name. And it can get better."

Zahid, 29, studied psychology in college but never pursued a clinical license. Instead, he made mental health his way of serving people. He talks to those who are hurting, gives them books, tells them they're not alone. And some...