The diagnosis and clinical management of various mental disorders are aided by knowing the predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors in a given case. Both the themed album and the full-length movie of Pink Floyd’s, The Wall, depict these factors in the course of the main character’s—”Pink’s”— mental health deterioration through music and film. In this episode, we draw from selected songs on the album and from selected scenes in the movie connecting the three factors with particular behaviors Pink manifests. In the process, we show how they are used in medical education and training in real time.

Joining us is Dr. Anthony Tobia, who is the campus chair in the Department of Psychiatry at the Rutgers School of Medicine and is also the Service Chief of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health in New Brunswick, NJ. Dr. Tobia is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is certified in internal medicine and psychosomatic medicine. He also holds a secondary appointment in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Rutgers. Dr. Tobia is the Director of Graduate and Interprofessional Education at Rutgers University Behavioral Health and has received the Outstanding Clinical Faculty Member Excellence Award in 2018 and 2019. He is an active contributor to the medical literature with publications, reviews, and abstracts. Dr. Tobia’s educational interests include the merging of popular culture and the field of behavioral medicine, which is evident from this episode and from his previous appearance on the podcast episode featuring The Who’s Tommy. Along with Dr. Tobia for this episode is Kevin Frederiks, who at the time of recording, was a fourth-year medical student at Rutgers.

Citations
For the recorded album: Pink Floyd. The Wall. Columbia Records, 1979.
For the movie: Parker, Alan, director. Pink Floyd The Wall. MGM, 1982.

Link
Please send us comments, recommendations, and questions here, or email to: ru***************@***il.com.

Thanks to Dr. Anthony Tobia and (by now) Dr. Kevin Fredriks for their interesting and insightful contributions to this episode. 


Web image by Russel Teagarden

More from The Clinic & The Person

Beautifier or Destroyer: Tuberculosis in Two Paintings

Art reveals how tuberculosis intertwines with societal perceptions, from suffering and destruction to the convergence of illness and beauty ideals.

Painting with Empathy: The Expressionist Art of Edvard Munch with Curator Øystein Ustvedt

Edvard Munch’s emotional portrayal of illness and suffering offers profound insights for health professionals and their education.

I Hold You Still?: Poet Micheal O’Siadhail Explains Parkinson’s Disease in Sonnets

A poet’s sonnets capture the emotional and clinical journey of Parkinson’s, offering unique insights beyond conventional biomedical understanding.”

What Desire Will Shape a World We’re Left?: Poet Micheal O’Siadhail on Covid

Four years post-pandemic, we must reflect not only on technocratic solutions but on deeper desires, using poetry to express collective and personal experiences.