Dr. Andre L. Johnson is a transformative force in mental health and recovery services. As the Founder, President, and CEO of Detroit Recovery Project Incorporated (DRP), he has revolutionized how behavioral health services are delivered in Michigan, establishing the state’s first recovery community organization designated as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. Recognized by President Barack Obama as a “2016 Champion of Change for Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery,” Dr. Johnson’s impact extends from the streets of Detroit to international collaborations with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan Against AIDS in Tanzania.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Johnson, one of only 4% of Black doctoral psychologists in America, shares his journey from Morehouse College to becoming a leading voice in clinical psychology and community healing. Drawing from over three decades of professional experience, he discusses the intersection of storytelling and healing, the importance of authentic Black narratives in mental health, and his mission to transform lives through innovative recovery approaches.
Every author possesses unique abilities to capture truth through narrative. What are your distinct storytelling powers, and how do they manifest in your work?
My storytelling powers comprise of my personal experiences, compassion for others. My distinction derives from living and walking the walk. My narrative continues to evolve based upon my interactions with others and my zeal to improve my storytelling abilities.
What defining moment awakened your writerly consciousness, and how did you cultivate the courage to develop your authentic voice in an industry often driven by trends?
My desire to want to tell my story and impact others are contributing factors to my conscious. My cultivation and courage gleans from being authentic coupled with self-awareness.
Share a pivotal writing challenge that tested your creative resilience. How did you transform that obstacle into an opportunity for deeper storytelling?
At first I began writing topics and paragraphs inside a notebook, and then one day I decided to type out everything that I previously wrote and began to organize and from there I developed an outline.
How do you maintain balance between artistic vision and market expectations? What practices keep your storytelling fresh and your observations keen?
Staying true to myself in other words staying in my lane and constantly striving to be the best version of self. Practices that motivate me and watching and observing others that have strong storytelling abilities helps me to continuously improve my craft and reshape my stories so they can have a great impact.
Describe how you approach the delicate balance of entertaining readers while addressing profound truths. What wisdom would you share with other authors about maintaining this equilibrium?
Staying authentic, increasing my knowledgeable of this ever changing world, reading ultimately helps me to expand my vocabulary coupled with striving to maintain balance that are comprised of my ecosystem staying conscious of my body, mind, and spirit.
In building your body of work, how do you ensure each story contributes to larger conversations about human nature and society?
Writing about the recovery ecosystem in itself gleans from our society and human nature. For example having clean water and fresh air to breathe is correlated to our ecosystem that has been maintained throughout a number of environmental and maintaining nature contributes to our thriving ecosystem.
How do you approach the business of authorship while protecting your creative integrity? What lessons about literary career development do you wish you had learned earlier?
My approach was for me to be the author, and provide insight to how I envisioned my book to look that’s one way of maintaining creative integrity. I worked for years conceptualizing my book, and took time to determine the audience that I wanted to target.
Tell us about your approach to mentoring emerging writers. How do you create spaces that empower other voices while honoring their unique perspectives?
I generally share my personal experiences, strengths, and hopes. By asking questions like what do emerging writers want to leave the audience with after reading their material? I encourage others to be their authentic self and challenge themselves to go deeper to create their masterpiece.
What role does social responsibility play in your storytelling? How do you balance artistic freedom with ethical consideration of your work’s impact?
My role as it relates to social responsibility is to highlight narratives that can inspire hope, and freedom from throes of addiction. My holistic approach promotes health and wellness. As a trained clinical psychologist it is my duty to stay conscious of “do no harm” and I can impact others is positive way, mitigating negative risks.
Share your philosophy on addressing both light and shadow in human nature. How do you approach difficult truths while maintaining hope?
My philosophy on light and shadow has been seeking the inner light in myself which requires self-awareness, remains consciousness through practicing restorative yoga. Approaching difficult truths requires me to remain steadfast through difficulties as the old adage goes “the cup is half full” staying optimistic, buoyant, and be prepared to pivot as needed.
How do you measure the success of your work beyond sales metrics? What legacy do you hope to leave through your stories?
I have a book with my name on it the success in not necessary in the money but the feedback I receive from individuals that have read the book, for example people say “I enjoyed reading your book it was a easy read”, or they ask me questions about the narrative, and or “I am now focusing on my body, spirit, and mind” ensures that I am on the right track.
Describe a work that directly confronted challenging aspects of human nature. What advice would you give to writers hesitant to explore difficult themes?
Covid-19, witnessing the countless people that died and or became gravely ill, motivated me to expand the work from focusing on behavioral health to integrating physical health ultimately to have an impact on the social determinants of health.
Share your experience navigating genres where Black voices have been historically underrepresented. How do you approach breaking barriers and creating new narratives in these spaces?
As a Morehouse man it was instilled in me to do meaningful work in our society in facts its my responsibility. I was expected to do great work regardless of my career aspirations. My favorite quote that resonates with me is the great Dr. Martin Luther King he quoted “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelango painted, or Beethoven composed music.” Knowing that there are only 4% black doctoral psychologist in America. I consider myself a minority in this space but I am trailblazer that has the responsibility to empower and encourage others to change Black people narrative. I am aware of Black people struggles throughout our society high rates of high school dropout, criminal justice involvement, high rates of HIV/AIDS, high rates of chronic health diseases all of these are preventable with proper education, guidance, and support. In order to break barriers its about building meaningful relationships with like minded individuals its about providing innovative content.
What unique perspectives do you bring to your chosen genre(s) as a Black author? How does your cultural experience enhance and expand the traditional boundaries of your literary category?
Being a Black author, requires being intentional with my work, embracing my cultural experiences with all that I do again remaining true to thyself. My writing provides a voice, narratives of Black people which historically have been underrepresented or not told. Black narratives are important one of my favorite authors is James Baldwin he quoted “Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within” this quote helps me to love and honor self so that I can exude it with all that I do when given the opportunity to represent Black people.
When writing biographies or historical narratives, how do you approach telling Black stories that have been overlooked or misrepresented? What methodology do you use to uncover and present these hidden histories?
I am intentional with highlighting black stories in particular. During my research when working on my dissertation I realized the lack of Black led research and participants participating in research studies. Therefore, I have been an advocate to increase Black participants into research which is evident by collaborative research studies we are doing with Harvard and Brandeis universities. I am currently a principal investigator and co-investigator on multiple research teams. As a Black expert I can make a contribution to our field. My methodology is using a narrative approach which is the most used approach to highlight narratives that usually would fall under the radar.
In genre fiction, how do you incorporate authentic cultural elements while avoiding stereotypes? How do you balance universal appeal with specific cultural authenticity?
Staying woke, conscious, and intentional mitigates helps me to avoid stereotypes. This is something that I see everytime I look at social media and how Blacks are portrayed in a negative lights. I am aware that has not been beneficial to the Black community as we are already battling generational curses and working to break down cycles of self-destruction. Therefore, I am unapologetic when it comes to empowering and appealing to cultural authenticity.
How do you approach writing for young readers across different genres? What responsibility do you feel in creating diverse representations in children’s and young adult literature?
My writing approach is use the adage of “KISS” Keeping it simple to ensure that it is an easy read and people can easily understand the content.
When writing contemporary fiction or literary works, how do you address the complexity of modern Black experience while resisting the pressure to explain or translate cultural nuances for non-Black readers?
My approach varies on the audience, but its always good to reflect on history, in particular historical trauma, which is something that’s often overlooked but it has dire negative experience on individuals that have not a safe space and support needed to thrive.
Looking forward, what emerging storytelling forms or themes excite you as an author? How do you see the role of literature evolving in an increasingly digital world?
I am excited about the digital space we live in because it means that we have wider reach to tell our stories. Storytelling approaches tends to resonate and is much easier to remember then listening to a lecturer style approach.
How has the transformation of publishing and reader engagement changed your approach? What opportunities and challenges do you see in this shift?
I have become much more critical and conscientious when writing. I consider myself a person that’s experiencing an ongoing transformation and knowing this prepares me for the opportunities and challenges that come my way any given day. I still get hiss with curve balls from time to time and not giving in to things that are out of control. Striving to foster my peace of mind.
Share your perspective on the future of storytelling. How are you preparing to meet evolving reader needs while preserving timeless narrative truths?
My perspective to storytelling would be to leverage technology where my storytelling will be accessible to preserve timeless narrative truths.
Share three authors who profoundly shaped your literary journey and why their work resonates with your mission. How has their approach influenced your storytelling philosophy?
Dr. Martin Luther King has influenced my philosophy to remain steadfast and humble. James Baldwin influenced me to stay conscious, and Malcolm X reminds me of my social justice responsibility as a Black man.
Offer three transformative writing principles that have enhanced your craft. How have these principles supported your ability to capture human truth?
- Studying my craft gleaning from my professional, personal, and educational experiences with over 30 years of professional experience.
- Thinking outside the box staying open to having several iterations of my from the beginning to the end 2017-2024.
- Patience I started writing my book in 2017 and I released it in 2024.
How do you approach writing about the past in ways that illuminate the present? Share your methodology for making historical themes relevant to contemporary readers.
Language is important, we living in world where language is constantly changing. Therefore as a writer I believe I am responsible for honoring the past and connecting the dots where its relevant to the future.
When writing about possible futures, how do you ground speculation in enduring human truths? What responsibility do you feel toward helping readers envision what’s possible?
Writing about the future requires discussing the past that’s a learning approach, some please are always interested in the past to predict and understand the future. I feel its my responsibility having this awareness how are past intertwines with our future both in a negative and positive way.
How do you ensure your work remains timeless while engaging with current cultural moments?
By utilizing relevant language, and ensuring that the material can be beneficial now and in the future.
Describe your approach to mastering genre conventions while innovating within them. How do you balance meeting reader expectations with pushing boundaries?
I take mastering genre convention as an opportunity to highlight the how, and why the work I am doing is important because it has a greater impact on our society at large.
Share your experience writing across multiple genres. How has genre-crossing enriched your storytelling and expanded your audience?
Generally when I write I keep in mind the populations most impacted which are generally minority and or disenfranchised individuals. While also being mindful of individuals Socio Economic Status.
What strategies have you developed for successfully pitching and marketing your work in genres where Black authors are underrepresented?
Typically, staying current with facts, statistics, and impacts that substance use disorder, mental health, and returning citizens struggle with and how to best help individuals to remain criminal free, drug-free, productive citizens.
Describe your research process and how you transform raw material into compelling narrative. What sacred practices support your writing journey?
Prayer, meditation, reflection and listening to Miles Davis or the Piano music is how I set the tone and tap into developing compelling narrative.
How do you develop characters that embody both the uniqueness of individual experience and universal human truths?
During my clinical training while attending Michigan School of Psychology, core philosophy is rooted in humanistic which aligns with my identity and treating, honoring all individuals uniqueness and human beings.
Share your approach to world-building, whether in contemporary or speculative settings. How do you create environments that feel both authentic and revelatory?
My world-building approach has stemmed from seeking out best-practices that are effective on a national level and using that knowledge to bring into the Detroit environment as long as its a good fit and aligns with my values. Developing programmatic services that are culturally relevant and adaptable to the populations that I strive to help on a daily basis.
