La culpabilité fait partie intégrante de l’expérience humaine et tout parent est confronté à ce sentiment, particulièrement lors du processus diagnostique de leur enfant. Dans cette recherche qualitative, nous avons tout d’abord exploré dix forums internet francophones traitant de la question des diagnostics pédopsychiatriques en nous centrant sur l’hyperactivité, l’autisme et le fonctionnement haut potentiel. Cela nous a permis de repérer les questionnements des parents et de créer un canevas d’entretien semi-directif. Onze familles ont participé à l’étude. L’analyse phénoménologique interprétative de ces entretiens montre l’utilité et le soulagement éprouvé par les parents à l’annonce du diagnostic, signe d’un sentiment de culpabilité parfois diffus et sous-jacent. La culpabilité a un impact varié suivant les situations, mais elle est toujours présente et constitue un enjeu majeur pour la clinique de l’enfant et de l’adolescent. Quelle que soit la position du clinicien vis-à-vis des questions diagnostiques, entendre et élaborer ces sentiments de culpabilité semble essentiel.

Guilt is part of the human experience and every parent is confronted with this emotion particularly when experiencing their child's diagnostic process. For some authors, this feeling is normal and even necessary because it contributes to the educational process. This qualitative research first explored ten French-language internet forums dealing with the issue of child psychiatry diagnoses focusing on hyperactivity (ADHD), autism (ASD) and high-potential functioning. This enabled us to identify the frequent themes and to create on this basis a semi-structured interview. For example, we asked parents how they felt when they noticed the child's difficulties and if the announcement of the diagnosis modulated the feeling of guilt. Eleven families participated in the study. An interpretative phenomenological analysis shows the need of the parents to name the difficulties and to be recognized in their daily parenting experiences. The announcement of the diagnosis is helpful and provides relief and allows parents to feel less guilty, especially in the eyes of those around them. Guilt has a different impact depending on the situation, but it is always present and constitutes a major challenge for the child and adolescent mental health professional. The first tendency of clinicians is sometimes to disculpate parents with reference to the medical model of childhood disorders. This position often provides parental relief, at least in the short term, but sometimes, if it is too fast and insistent, it may lead some parents to doubt its validity. Regardless of the clinician's position on diagnostic issues, it seems essential to us not to evacuate these feelings too quickly, but to hear and develop them through a caring and empathic relationship.