Au Quebec, la psychiatrie transculturelle emprunte a plusieurs cadres theoriques, s'inspirant a la fois d'une ethnopsychiatrie plus europeenne, de la psychiatrie americaine dominante et de l'anthropologie critique nord-americaine. Dans sa remise en question de certains savoirs dominants elle cherche a relancer un travail de pensee mais n'echappe pas au risque de recreer d'autres certitudes qui participent de la course a l'expertise. Or l'incertitude s'impose quotidiennement dans une pratique clinique transculturelle. On peut la percevoir comme un epiphenomene ou comme un instrument qui, malgre certains dangers, peut jouer un role therapeutique central. A partir de l'experience d'une equipe clinique et de recherche, cet article propose que l'incertitude nommee et contenue dans un espace clinique peut confirmer la position de sujet du patient, modifier le fil temporel de l'intervention et redonner une place a l'ambiguite dans le questionnement ethique qui accompagne la clinique.
In Quebec, transcultural psychiatry has made use of several theoretical approaches, and simultaneously been inspired more by European ethnopsychiatry, all-dominating American psychiatry, and critical North American anthropology. Through its questioning of several dominant approaches, it aims at providing fresh impetus for thinking, but runs the risk of recreating other certainties associated with competence and expertise. However, uncertainty is encountered on a daily basis in transcultural clinical practice. It can be viewed as an epiphenomenon, or as an instrument which in spite of certain dangers can play a major therapeutic role. Based on the experience of a clinical research team, the argument is put forward that uncertainty that is defined and contained within a clinical context can aid in treating the patient's condition, modify the approach by altering the power relationship, provide greater flexibility, and confer a role to ambiguity in the ethical questioning that is part of the clinical context.