Adolescence is the period of potential onset of the main psychiatric disorders of adulthood. However, adolescence is also a period of profound identity transformations that produce, more or less, acute symptoms, not directly related to the severity of the process of the disease. At that age, prognosis is often a therapeutic challenge that could affect the natural course of the disorder. The significant connection between clinical evolution and treatment devices contains a true ethical value. The Author illustrates the therapeutic devices, developed recently in France, to treat adolescents suffering of severe psychiatric disorders. He describes the devices planned for emergency and longer treatments, and underlines the complex problem of the timing and coordination of treatment programs. Finally, he presents his view on institutional work and social networking, and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a meta-point of view on adolescent psychopathology.
Keywords: Adolescence, psychiatric disorders, psychiatric institutions, social networking.