TroubleChutes was conceived when London singer-songwriter and psychology graduate Marsha Swanson joined forces with film and TV composer William Morris. They identified a need at the infant school both their children attended after hearing from the teachers about countless difficult friendship issues.

Inspired, they wrote a song for the school titled “Jealous Friend”. They set up workshops as a voluntary contribution for the year 2 classes. The children, with an interested adult, discussed the meaning of the lyrics, which allowed them to process their own experiences and to expand their thinking through discussion.

Doing this with their peers helped decrease feelings of isolation. Performance followed discussion. Having already absorbed the subject matter at a deeper level created a cathartic and physically embodied performance, which was a bonding experience for all.

Feedback from the teachers and parents was that the children continued the singing in the playground and at home, and the experience helped to dissolve previous fractures within social groups. The headmaster was particularly delighted to witness the school ‘tough guy’ initiating a group hug! 

Following this, Marsha and William set about writing more songs on a range of issues, including bullying, sibling rivalry and the death of a pet. The surge of positive responses led to the realisation of a wider need for such a resource.

Inspired by Carole King’s incredible collaboration with Maurice Sendak, “Really Rosie”, Marsha began the search for an illustrator.

Really Rosie came out originally as a series of miniature books, as part of the Nutshell Library, published by Harper Collins. In it, the lyrics to the songs were featured on one page and the illustrations on the other. It was also made into a full-length animation, with the music and songs also available on CD.

It was so successful that it even outsold Carole King’s bestselling album “Tapestry”! Marsha loved it as a child and continues to love it as an adult. The songs are nurturing, wise and containing. 

The illustrations bring a sense of maternal/paternal care but don’t shy away from hard truths. Marsha hadn’t seen or heard anything quite like it before or since and she was determined to bring something of this nature to this generation. After coming across the therapy cartoons of Victor Yalom, (PhD, founder and resident cartoonist of Psychotherapy.net), Marsha knew he would be a great ideological match. Victor (son of the famous American author and eminent psychiatrist Irvin Yalom) had the knack for getting across complex messages simply. As a psychologist, he had natural attunement to the emotional narrative of the songs and was able to use his therapeutic understanding when interpreting the lyrics visually.