Based on the specific experience of a tertiary university hospital in Paris, France, we propose a theoretical framework encompassing developmental, multidimensional, eco‐systemic, and multifactorial perspectives for child and adolescent psychiatry. Consequently, a modern CAPD should be multidisciplinary and implemented in a large medical setting with close disciplines, should promote tailored and integrative treatment, should include some organizational aspects (e.g., tutoring), and should also be opened to cultural and school interventions. Finally, for complex cases, it should keep ambitious goals in terms of both clinical and functional recovery.