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On the basis of an observation of the clinical work of a hospitalization team in a child pyschiatric unit, responsible for the long-term care of adolescent patients presenting an invasive behavioural disorder, consideration is given to the relation between the family economy and the institutional group functioning. Particular attention is paid to the manner in which the process of discharge from hospital occurs when the patients reach the age of 18. The different paths, verbal and non-verbal, taken by the mechanisms of a transmission are explored with the help of clinical illustrations. The interest of family interviews for supporting and elaborating the complex ties woven between families, patients and the institution is explored.