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The author defines the concept of “the process of authority” as a mode of mental functioning centered on the transmission and transformation of the superego-ideal. This mode articulates prohibition (saying no), value prescription, and permission (saying yes). This process can be dysfunctional: abusive, insufficient, or inconsistent. Its correct form presupposes the experience, in family life, of what is referred to within this article as “overcoming the 'no’ test together.” The process of authority, required to deal with the inherent potential for conflict, does not fail to produce conflict in its turn. How can we comprehend this structural paradox? This question is very common in clinical settings of catastrophe. The process of authority is one of the methods of psychoanalytical treatment and not only a trend in educational settings.