It is hypothesized that this change has interfered with the mission of the family to promote functional adolescent development and with the ability of the family during this life cycle state to operate with a sense of community attachment. A rite of passage is defined as a 'ceremony or ritual that recognizes or symbolizes an individual movement from one state to another.' This paper discusses the relevance and implementation of rites of passage in families with adolescents and the importance of rites of passage as they pertain to family development and change. Ideas about making them explicit in family therapy to change family interaction and structure are discussed, and three clinical illustrations are presented. Prescribed family rituals tha are straightforward, developmentally relevant, and interactional are discussed. Creating and implementing rites of passage that families can honor and respect can have advantages such as confirming the successful achievement of adolescent family members, instilling confidence in the adolescents and a sense of security with their own development and providing a vehicle for resolving an impasse around progression of the family life cycle. Rites of passage also can decrease the likelihood of an adolescent's reversion to previous behavior and free the parents from being victims of family consequences of social change. 25 references.