Journal December 2025 Release - Flipbook - Page 102
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life instead of where he knew it was gonna go?
Quentin as Steven: Ummm, no.
Mauricio: No? Steven, how come? What do you know about Quentin that does not
fit with where his life has been going?
Quentin as Steven: He’s reserved, not that outgoing.
Mauricio: Steven, how do you think that being reserved and not outgoing would
have kept Quentin from all the troubles he has been going through in his life
since your departure?
Quentin as Steven: Just like… I think he would have been more in control, I guess.
Mauricio: Steven, Quentin would have been more in control of what?
Quentin as Steven: Himself.
Mauricio: Being in control of himself. Steven, what do you think he would have
been able to accomplish because of being in control of himself?
Quentin as Steven: Anything.
Mauricio: Did you say anything, Steven?
Quentin as Steven: Those dreams of being like a student athlete. I think he could
have accomplished his dream of going into the Navy.
Mauricio: As you may know Steven, those things have not happened. Instead,
Quentin has had some problems with substance use and some struggles
with the law. He also has been struggling with anxiety and has been
thinking that he’s not good enough. He has been thinking about all these
problems and his lost dreams. Steven, if you had the chance to say anything
you wished to say to Quentin, what would you say to him?
Quentin as Steven: Get big. I don’t know, man up and be tough.
Mauricio: Steven, does Quentin know what you mean by that?
In the Company of Awkwardness: Counterstorying Toughness in Therapy
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, December 2025 Release, p. 88 -106.
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