ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will discuss the model of treatment I have developed with my colleagues in Geneva. This has been developed from psychoanalytic thinking about the meaning of a suicide attempt in adolescence, particularly the idea that a suicidal crisis is a trauma that ruptures previous experiences of containment. Accordingly our treatment model starts from the view that in-patient assessment and treatment are a necessary starting point for suicidal adolescents. I will discuss the model of treatment and I will explain this with reference to the psychoanalytic framework as it has developed in French-speaking countries.
