inspired by René Thom’s catastrophe theory applied to psychoanalysis, the Author observes the adolescent turmoil in relation to the process of subjectivation which reaches its highest expression during this phase. Analysing the evolution and the crisis of subjectivation, the Author highlights some turning points in adolescent development that reach their climax in the so-called "Catastrophic transitions". These transitions consist in highly critical moments which can evolve either in a transformative or a psychopathological way, depending on the personal history of the individual, starting from Winnicott’s mother-child relationship. Two clinical vignettes describe the turning points involving the corporeality of the adolescent.
Keywords: Adolescence, catastrophe, catastrophic transition, Self, subjectivation, drive.