EX-ADDICT COUNSELS YOUTH ON DANGERS OF DRUGS

A city man is taking his own experiences of drug addiction and
dealing and turning them around into messages of hope for youth and parents.

Tom Barthel talks to kids and their parents about the dangers of
drugs and the way out of addiction through his Red Deer-based Street
Smart Counselling.

Things were good for him in earlier years, earning top grades and
excelling in general. But life changed by the time he was 16, and he
started hanging with the "wild" kids.

"At 18 years of age, the party monster from within was unleashed."

By the time he was 23 he was into drugs, dealing, and crime. But the
stress of running from the law and sinking deeper into the dealing
and addictive lifestyle were taking their toll.

He woke up one morning in what he describes as a schizophrenic psychosis.

"It's basically a nightmare but you're awake. And it doesn't stop. My
brain was scrambled in a big way, and I just wandered."

He eventually made a suicide attempt, which marked a stark turning
point. "I went through a process I call surrendering. And I made a
commitment to myself to never fall short of my dreams again."

On a quest for help, he came across alternative strategies that he
says saved his life. It primarily boiled down to a total
misunderstanding of addiction and mental health issues, and the role
of parents -- specifically the way parents communicate and behave
with their child, he says.

That's when Barthel, now 31, launched his own counseling service,
intent on teaching people practical, real life, street smart
knowledge of what to do if they have a problem.

His philosophy is that there is "another way of looking at things."
Barthel believes that if someone is struggling with something it is
not because there is no answer, it is because that person does not
know the answer, or misunderstood the solution the first time.
"Miscommunication is at the heart of many problems," he explains on
his web site.

"I get parents coming to me asking 'What can we do for our kid? We're
scared.' They went home, took action, and their kid started to
recover from drugs all by themselves just because of the change in
the parents' behaviour." Barthel believes that drug and alcohol use
are only part of the picture. "Drugs are a by-product of something
else that is going on."

Among his topics, he teaches parents how to 'facilitate a recover' in
their child and also explains the importance of timing so they know
when to take action and when not to take action.

Children sometimes face issues that if missed by parents, may lead
the youngsters to a greater vulnerability to using drugs down the road.

He now teaches these strategies and offers a step-by-step plan to
parents, education professionals and health care workers who have
made the commitment to support others who are in need.

He's spoken at a variety of venues and meetings over the years,
including the Alberta Harm Reduction Conference 2008 in Edmonton, the
2008 AADAC Executive Conference of sponsored agencies in Red Deer and
the 2006 Choices Conference put on by the Red Public School District.
He's talked to several local school groups as well.

Barthel will be speaking at Lacombe's Kozy Korner on Nov. 5 from 7 to 9 p.m.

For more information or schedules of his local presentations, check
out www.streetsmartcounselling.com .