When Dr. Heidi Kar was a psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs, one of her patients was a veteran who refused to give up his gun — despite being so depressed that he had repeatedly tried to take his own life.
Today, Dr. Kar is the Principal Advisor for Mental Health, Trauma and Violence at Education Development Center (EDC). But at the time, she was just a doctor trying to save a suicidal patient's life. As a compromise, Dr. Kar suggested that the patient put his gun in a bucket of water and stick it in the freezer, so that at least he couldn't easily get to it. As Dr. Kar anticipated, the patient was unable to access the gun the next time he wanted to kill himself. Frustrated at the delay, Dr. Kar's patient began frantically chipping at the ice in the hope that he could quickly extract his weapon.
