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Meet Christopher O’Shea, Co-Founder: In His Words

Manifesting the Vision of TPN.Health

Christopher O’Shea has been a life-long advocate for mental health. In 2008, upon his return from the Middle East where he worked with Doctors Without Borders, he was inspired to help returning veterans with mental health issues. Chris began working with his mentor Ann McCarthy, Doctor of Social Work. This work inspired the idea of going around the country to see what mental health treatment looked like.

Christopher made the decision to sell his New York company and dive completely into the behavioral health space. Over the next several years, he traveled the country visiting mental health and addiction treatment programs, meeting hundreds of licensed mental health professionals. He met Felicia Kleinpeter, a long-time dedicated mental health professional, who respected the other mental health professionals they met along the way and the process of making referrals for clinical fit.

Christopher witnessed Felicia working tirelessly to refer patients to the right therapist, psychiatrist, treatment program, etc. locally and nationally and was amazed at what a time-consuming process it was to find each patient just the right fit. Christopher’s passion for the collegiate recovery movement led to his collaboration with Felicia in support for the recovery program as it exists today on LSU’s campus. Likewise, upon attending a New Orleans fundraiser at Jeffery & Walton Goldrings home about mental health stigma, Christopher and Felicia were inspired in finding out the struggles happening in the City of New Orleans. Christopher committed to helping Felicia start and advise a peer-to-peer collegiate recovery program at Tulane University her alma mater.

One day Christopher had the good fortune to meet Jimmy Mooney. Upon getting to know one another, they found they had a similar view on the need for a national search engine to easily enable clinicians and behavioral health professionals to search for patient mental health and addiction services based on clinical fit. After much discussion and inspiration, Trusted Provider Network (TPN) was born.

Over the next three years, Christopher and Jimmy created a clinically searchable platform based on diagnosis to make it easy to find referrals based on clinical fit. We created an on-site vetting process, an eighteen-page clinical application designed by clinicians. The goal of TPN was to have a transparent clinical referral system for professionals. It became apparent that the clinical professionals were the gate-keepers of the behavioral health world.

“TPN is forming collaboration with licensed clinicians, educational institutions, local and national experts, as well as corporate wellness programs.” 

In 2018 Christopher met Trevor Colhoun at a recovery advocacy fundraiser. After becoming aware of one another’s passion for mental health wellness, Trevor reached out to Christopher as he was interested in discussing the existing TPN. Trevor Colhoun, not coming from the behavioral health space, brought a needed different perspective. The idea that Chris and Jimmy had always believed was that at the heart of all behavioral health, licensed mental health clinicians hold the line in the sand. Trevor believed in it so much that he partnered with Jimmy and Christopher to re-create Trusted Provider Network into TPN.Health.

TPN.Health has created the first step of many towards designing a clinical platform like no other. TPN is forming collaboration with licensed clinicians, educational institutions, local and national experts, as well as corporate wellness programs. The amount of excitement and support has prompted TPN to bring on Felicia Kleinpeter as our Director of Clinicians. TPN.Health is truly allowing and advocating licensed clinical direction to best serve patients. TPN is now headquartered in New Orleans where it is growing and promoting true clinical community.