[The adolescent crisis, a model for psychopathology]

The unconscious structural upheavals of the crisis of adolescence occur at the same time as the structural mutations of the consciousness. The individual thus finds himself given to excesses, to setbacks, and to pathological defenses. We can account for all of psychopathology by using the process of adolescence as a model, which is what we attempt here in an ontological and psychoanalytical perspective. We use the Kleinian concept of the "depressive position" as an incontrovertible theory and we give it the status of a structure representing a level of consciousness and a level of integration of drives. Using this concept as a turning point, we briefly sketch the occurrence of psychopathological events, clinical symptoms, as well as modes of thought and pathological behaviour. We suggest schemas for the end of the crisis. We wonder about what this crucial period is like in traditional cultures. Daily clinical practice and the psychotherapy of adolescents are referred to throughout this article.