# Person-first language: why "a person with psychopathy" matters

- **Episode:** [131](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/131.md) (2024-09-26)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** person-first-language, psychopathy, terminology
- **Time:** 9:16–11:12 (start 556s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/131?t=556](https://truthliesandwork.com/131?t=556)

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[9:16] Abigail Marsh: A person with psychopathy
[9:18] Leanne Elliott: A person with psychopathy
[9:19] Abigail Marsh: Just like we would say somebody who has depression is a person with depression. We don't call them a depressive. You know, we used to. Um, and I should note, I'm not a clinical psychologist. I'm a research psychologist. Um, but clinicians used to call people with depression depressives, right? But because we now view that as sort of demeaning to refer to people as their disorders, so we use person-first language. It doesn't roll off the tongue. And, uh, that is admittedly a cost. Clear communication is important
[9:45] Leanne Elliott: Yeah
[9:45] Abigail Marsh: But I also think it's important to remember that psychopathy is a disorder. Nobody chooses to end up with this disorder. And the problem is that It's hard to keep in mind 2 different things, right? People with psychopathy have a disorder. It has all the hallmarks of a clinical disorder. It genuinely is. It's just as much a disorder, a psychological disorder, as autism or schizophrenia or depression or anorexia. And that means the person who has it didn't choose to have it. That means that they, um, you know, likely have it because of a combination of genetic and environmental reasons. And it also means they can get better, right? And we should treat them compassionately. We should try to get them the care that they need because then they will be much more likely to get better. And everybody benefits. So those things are all true simultaneously. People who are psychopathic do terrible things to other people sometimes, right? Again, not always, but a lot of the time. That is one of the features of the disorder, and it can be very hard to feel compassion and a desire to help people who do terrible things to other people. I get that, right? I've been a victim of violent crime myself. I don't know if the person who hurt me was psychopathic, but it's not that I don't understand
[10:51] Al Elliott: Yeah
[10:52] Abigail Marsh: the desire for vengeance and retribution and for that person to get punished who hurts you. I get it. However, I also know that the desire for vengeance and retribution isn't going to get us to the kind of society we want, where people with psychopathy get better instead of worse and victimize fewer people in the future