We approach the issue of the unplaceable adolescent from the perspective of a paradox, speaking of the necessary quest to be named by another; this will establish one as a subject. Treating adolescents at Youth Legal Protection, we are confronted with the violence of repetition, but also with powerlessness and confusion. It is essential that the hate of the transference – and in the transference – be heard in order to understand what is at stake for the adolescent relegated to this position of excluded object.

Adolescence, 2021, 39, 2, 415-424.