Michele Kambolis, Clinical Therapist and Artist

Brave art.

Four years ago, Michele Kambolis was busily cleaning out the cabinets of her well-established therapy clinic, Harbourside Conselling Centre. Art therapy is a regular part of her practice, and when she spotted a bottle of ceramic paint that sat unused, Kambolis didn’t have the heart to throw it away. Instead, she pulled out a canvas. Swirling and spreading the paint across the page, Kambolis was able to release repressed emotions she didn’t know she had.

“I was having nightmares about my clients,” Kambolis recalls. “Feelings of anxiety, panic and dread would overcome me, and I needed an outlet.” Inside that tiny bottle of paint, Kambolis found her outlet.

Chaotic periods in life were painted as fiery red volcanoes, hot lava, or a thrashing cobalt-blue ocean. Times of serenity birthed smooth sand dunes and multicolour sunsets. Moments of happiness and satisfaction inspired some of her most abstract and eclectic paintings—some of which hang in Vancouver’s most prestigious spas, restaurants and hotels, including Solaris, Raincity Grill, and the Loden.

But Kambolis is not in it for the money or the fame. Her art was inspired by her true life’s calling—clinical therapy and mental health education. “The catalyst for beginning was watching how the art therapy transformed my clients’ lives,” she explains. “I work with kids therapeutically—kids who are autistic, who have speech and language delay, who have cognitive delay. I use art therapy as a non-verbal modality to help them express pain, trauma and anxiety because many of them don’t yet have the verbal capacity.” She also works extensively with teens who have been neglected or struggle with substance abuse and self-esteem challenges, as well as adults who are “looking to take a new direction in life or reach the next level”. After 16 years as a clinical therapist, Kambolis points out that most people are in touch with merely two percent of their emotions; but, she says, “art expression can help uncover the rest.”

As Kambolis reflects on past experiences that have shaped her as a therapist, she swallows a lump of emotion in her throat. She recalls a six-year-old girl who was battling depression—a car accident had left her paralyzed and forever dependant on a ventilator. For four years, Kambolis used art therapy to help her heal. “I taught her to paint with her mouth,” Kambolis remembers, pursing her lips to demonstrate how she held the paintbrush. “As she rediscovered her power and felt useful and alive again, everything changed.” By the time her therapy was complete the girl was selling intricate mouth-painted silk scarves and teaching schoolmates the techniques of her newfound skill. Kambolis shakes her head in amazement. “I learned so much from that family about what it means to come together as a community—to rally around someone,” she says. “It was a gift for me.” By practising what she preaches, Kambolis believes her art therapy has brought a greater sense of integrity and authenticity to her practice. “We all have the ability to decide a different reality for ourselves and actualize it. This is how powerful we are.”

When she isn’t working or painting, Kambolis can be found volunteering, to increase awareness of mental health. She writes columns for West Coast Families and BC Parent magazines and is also a weekly guest on AM1410’s The Nik and Marke Show as the station’s resident clinical therapist. She also hosts a variety of charity events and has spent countless hours speaking to audiences about the importance of mental health awareness, research and education. In 2008 Kambolis joined forces with a few colleagues to create the BC Mental Health Foundation. Kambolis takes great pride in her role as the vice-chair, taking every opportunity to give back to the community, including multiple donations of artwork for auction prizes.

Aside from her considerate nature and strong determination to heal those who need help, Kambolis’s drive comes from a more personal place. Her journey with mental health has been intimate and lifelong; she has a sibling who grapples with mental health issues and a son who dealt with early onset of anxiety. Just as she practises art therapy with clients, she does the same with family, and her eyes light up when she talks about the difference it has made. “Pain and worry have been replaced with joy, laughter, and play,” she says, smiling. “As a mother, that makes my heart soar.”

Portrait: Kevin Clark.
Painting photos: Hamid Attie Photography.
Scarf photos: Mark Reynolds.

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September 19, 2009