When Wellbeing Meets the Mountains: Our Counsellors in Ladakh

From 11 to 14 October 2026, our counsellor Ms. Aakriti Sethi, along with colleagues from Shiv Nadar School Noida and Gurgaon, travelled to Leh and Karu in Ladakh to spend time with the men and women of the Indian Army. These are the people who guard our borders in some of the toughest conditions in the country.

After a day spent adjusting to the high altitude, the team began their work. In Leh, they met the Ladakh Scouts, held small-group conversations with young Agniveers, and offered one-on-one counselling to anyone who wanted it. That evening, they addressed nearly 600 jawans, officers and senior officers of an Army regiment. The next day, they took the same programme to Karu.

The sessions were not lectures. They were conversations about stress, loneliness, caring for oneself and looking out for one another. Some soldiers spoke up in the large gathering. Others opened up in small circles, and a few found comfort in quiet individual sessions. Each found their own way in.

What we brought back

The visit left our team with a few lessons that hold just as true in a school as in an Army camp:

• People open up in different ways. Offering large-group sessions, small-group conversations and individual support meant no one was left out. Some needed a crowd to feel safe, while others needed a quiet room.
• Wellbeing must be easy to reach. When conversations about mental health feel accessible and ordinary, people are far more willing to reflect and ask for help.
• Peer support is powerful. Knowing that the person beside you is looking out for you can make all the difference, whether you are a soldier on duty or a child in a classroom.
• Asking for help is strength. Every session came back to one simple idea: seeking support is a positive step that builds resilience, both personal and collective.
• Wellbeing belongs alongside responsibility. Even in the most demanding roles, caring for one’s emotional health is not a luxury. It is what allows us to keep going.

For our team, it was a humbling and deeply meaningful experience. The soldiers carry great responsibility, often far from home, and it was a privilege to offer them a space to pause, reflect and feel heard.

Our counsellors return with fresh insight and renewed purpose, which they will carry into their work with our students every day, helping our children speak openly about their feelings, support one another, and know that it is always okay to ask for help.

At Shiv Nadar School, we believe that emotional wellbeing matters as much as anything we achieve, in a classroom or on a frontier. We are proud of our counsellors for carrying this belief so far, and grateful to the Indian Army for welcoming us with such warmth.