Johnny Crowder – Healing in Community: The Power of Peer Support

September 9, 2025

SUMMARY:

In this episode of TLC Connections, Johnny Crowder takes us on a journey from the intensity of heavy metal stages to founding Cope Notes, a mental health tech company impacting individuals and organizations worldwide. He candidly shares his personal experiences with mental health, the strategies that sustain him, and how embracing vulnerability has shaped his leadership. Listeners will discover how music became his first language of expression, the challenges he faced along the way, and why peer support lies at the core of his mission. Honest, inspiring, and deeply human, this conversation delivers a powerful message of hope, healing, and resilience for anyone navigating life’s challenges.

GUEST BIO:

As a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist and the Founder/CEO of the globally-utilized positive psychology startup Cope Notes, Johnny Crowder gives audiences practical self-care tools and mental health strategies that people can begin using today to improve their emotional health and wellbeing. With infectious positivity, humor, and authenticity, this trauma survivor shows audiences why opening up about mental health is the key to coping, and why the most resilient organizational cultures proudly prioritize and support mental health for all.

Johnny’s own personal experiences of poverty and abuse, his deep knowledge of psychology, and his remarkable ability to explain complex topics in an easy-to-understand way make for presentations that are both powerful and practical. His refreshingly vulnerable and candid perspective has attracted praise from hundreds of outlets, including Upworthy, CNN, and Forbes. Even when commanding a virtual stage or touring with his Billboard-charting heavy metal band, Prison, his firsthand experience with mental illness and infectiously positive humor never fail to resonate, educate, and inspire.

EPISODE LINKS:

SPONSORS:

The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth (TLC) is a social enterprise headquartered in the Greater Philadelphia Area and operating in multiple states. Founded in 1970 by a behavioral health hospital, TLC is an entrepreneurial nonprofit providing K-12 education, behavioral health care, outpatient therapy, wellness coaching, professional development, and grant management services.