Using the case of Sophie, who exhibits a “school phobia”, this article will examine the metapsychological issues of a symptom whose nosographic evidence encompasses the complexity of adolescent reorganizations. The connections between actual neurosis and transference neurosis lead one to think of school as a locus for the displacement of Oedipal conflicts and the after-effects of the pubertary processes (pubertaire). Expressive arts therapies appear as essential for re-starting figuration, transference and subjectivation work.

Adolescence, 2026, 44, 2, 281-292.