My client attended therapy because he was mandated to. Making progress to stop his use of child exploitation material was vital

‘The version of events clients present is often different to the way events transpired, and there are often rationalisations or justifications for behaviours.’ Photograph: Basak Gurbuz Derman/Getty Images

Sometimes people attend therapy because they are mandated to attend, not because they want to. Bill* was one of these clients. He sat before me, avoiding eye contact, arms crossed.

“I didn’t hurt anyone, not like those other blokes did,” he said.