Our Story "The Why"
Nothing grips the heart more than a parent afraid of losing their children, especially from something that's entirely avoidable. When our teenage sons lost close friends to drug overdoses, we struggled with how to support and protect them. Our 6 decade combined experiences in healthcare and specialized therapies has helped us recognize that no illness is more misunderstood and poorly treated than addictions. Early identification is key to prevention and recovery. Yet, there's a gaping hole in how people are being assessed and treated compared to other chronic illnesses. Compris is a culmination of our life's work and shared vision to reach as many people as possible with our online tool. We believe Compris can change the conversation from stigma to inclusion—turning substance misuse behaviors into opportunities to save lives. We hope it helps many people.
Meet The Founders
Calvin McGinn PhD, LMFT, RN
Founder / Principal Researcher
Calvin McGinn, PhD, LMFT, RN, is the co-founder of Compris, Inc., and an ER Care Manager for AdvocateAurora Health. His 40-year professional career in biopsychosocial medicine includes significant contributions to both the medical and behavioral science community. He holds undergraduate degrees in Theology and Nursing, and both master’s and doctoral degrees in Marital and Family Therapy. Calvin served as Director of Behavioral Sciences, Hinsdale Family Practice Residency, Co-Chair of the National Forum for the Behavioral Sciences in Family Medicine, and State Trainer for NAMI (The National Alliance on Mental Illness). While program director at a Chicago MAT substance treatment program in 2016, he began researching the stigma-based contrasts in managing those with brain illnesses vs every other chronic condition. His expertise as a recovery coach and program director led to co-founding Compris, an evidence-based path that integrates what we already know about SUD as a chronic, risk-stratified, illness into a new online assessment, prevention, wellness, referral and treatment paradigm. Calvin has spoken locally and internationally on behavioral health topics such as: • addiction and recovery • chronic illness management • therapeutic interventions for families and individuals • risk and resilience With Compris he and his co-founder, Joyce Ann McGinn bring a solution to the deadliest epidemic in American history by prioritizing a chronic (vs. acute) illness perspective to address a lifelong (vs. short term) condition. We know the first step–improved assessment—will bring improved answers to resolving it.
Nicole Spiegel-Gotsch MA
Business Development Advisor
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Nicole Spiegel-Gotsch is the Founder & CEO of Mavyn, a marketing strategy consultancy that helps founders build, launch and grow their businesses. She brings a mix of creative and business skills to the table that comes from 20+ years working with startups, small businesses, and Fortune 500 clients alike. Nicole’s background is multidisciplinary, spanning marketing, branding, content, and product. She holds a Master's degree in Graphic Communications Management & Technology from NYU. Among Nicole’s many interests are communication, digital health, startups, and entrepreneurship.
Nicole joins Compris as their strategic development and growth advisor.
Joyce Ann McGinn OTR/L, GCFP
Co-Founder / COO
Joyce Ann McGInn, BS, OTR/L, GCFP Compris’ co-founder, has spent 25 years dedicated to her integrated healing practice. Her formal training in Occupational Therapy, the Feldenkrais Method, and neuro-reflexive integration (MNRI) bring a unique perspective and empathy for those with chronic pain, PTSD, and developmental delays. Addictions remove the capacity to make healthy choices. To the extent that the opioid crisis is connected to poor management of chronic pain and related illnesses, including PTSD, Joyce's integrated healing methods have found increasing relevance. At each step of her career, the role of neuroplasticity in restoring balance has become more fundamental to the process of sustained, healthy, whole person change. Joyce believes that in order to achieve balance in living, there must be an equilibrium between our habits, reflexes and choices. Joyce has researched the challenges surrounding the opioid crisis, and currently authors a blog to raise awareness of the comprehensive addiction care needs in the workplace and create avenues to reach people by creating partnerships with employee benefits wellness programs and providers.
The Technology
Based on decades of research, we pulled the best and most effective tools together to create the most accurate prediction, prevention guidance, and measurable outcomes.
Compris (French, Com·pree, “understood”) is the only substance addiction assessment available today that offers comprehensive addiction diagnostics and risk stratification consistent with a chronic illness treatment paradigm. Its 13,000 machine learning algorithms translate evidence-based lifetime risk and resilience factors, DSM-5 and HSI illness diagnostics, motivation, denial, and self-reported readiness, into the first complete prevention, treatment, and long-term addiction management guide.
