We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelley Robinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I felt a burning desire to do things differently and have more locus of control. I am a dreamer and a creative. I am also a nurse practitioner. Often those don’t meld together well in traditional health care.

I have always analyzed the current situation or system, coming up with ideas for improvement and growth. Systems are often inefficient, rigid and unadaptable. This became frustrating as I spent years as a nurse practitioner trying to find my place within one of the biggest system in the US, the healthcare system

It’s a huge bureaucratic machine! Change is slow and clunky. And as a clinician you also have to deliver care within another system, the insurance companies. This can all be very frustrating both for the patient and the clinician.

Insurance companies drive how care is delivered and what defines quality of care. This often results in less time with patients, which contradicts the whole reason I went into healthcare to begin with, the healing nature of human connection.

I knew that if I stayed within these systems it would cause burnout. So, I ventured into the startup world where change happens in milliseconds. For a moment, it was exhilarating to be in a leadership and healthcare role that resonated with my creative and dreamer spirit. However, after time I witnessed the dark underbelly of start up ventures where profit is the prize and quality of patient care is often minimized. I found myself in just another big machine.

So, I decided to open a solo psychiatry practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. There is no system telling me how to deliver care and how to connect with patients. There are not insurance companies hovering over me demanding less time.

Instead there’s just humans seeking support in their health journey, time to connect, and a wonderful community of like-minded souls wanting to do healthcare differently.

Social impact: how does your business impact the community/world?

Outside of my practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I took my years of experience as a palliative care nurse practitioner and developed a game called Elephant in the Room to provide a tool for families to facilitate difficult conversations about wishes in aging, unexpected sickness, medical treatment, and dying.

As you can imagine this conversation could be really intense! So, the game has unexpected ways to connect through laughter.

The intention with the game is to take a medicalized conversation and make it accessible for families to start to exploring advanced care planning conversations intimately with their loved ones without a medical provider in their home facilitating the conversation.

My hope is that Elephant in the Room deepens connection with loved ones. That it infuses joy and laughter into difficult conversations. And that it helps families discuss topics that are often ignored. For example, what are our loved ones wishes in getting older? What if they were to get dementia? What are their wishes for how they want to die and what happens after death? What do you fear most about death?

Also, by playing Elephant loved ones can connect through storytelling and in wisdom sharing with questions like: What are some pearls of wisdom you would share with the next generation? What’s one habit that has improved your life or helped you to achieve something? Who is a person in your life that changed the trajectory you were on and why?

And as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I hope to provide a safe space to cultivate curiosity in one’s journey and healing. A huge motivating desire of seeking mental health care is transformation. It is part of our humanity to have the need to be seen, heard, known and recognized. This is my hope for all patients seeking care, not just with me with any provider.

Risk taking: How do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

I love this question! I would not have had the experiences I’ve had if it wasn’t for taking risks. I’ve always been a risk taker and curious what lies beyond the horizon. My dad has modeled risk-taking from an early age and encouraged me to be an adventurer be my own person, and to speak up. All of which can be very risky business.

Is there potential for failure? Every time. Often failure has taught me more about myself then success. It’s taught me how to adjust my sails, innovate, and pick myself back up and find another way.

Risk also doesn’t have to be some huge life-altering first step. Sometimes it starts with something small, like reaching out to someone with a phone call that then changes the trajectory of your life.

A time I made a small-step risk that has paved the way for me to be where I am, was when I reached out to Dr. Craig Heacock a podcast host, runner, and psychiatrist in Northern Colorado.

During my psychiatric nurse practitioner program I needed clinical hours and found they were both incredibly hard to find and finding someone to learn under that had a similar philosophy of care was even harder.

I had remembered Dr. Heacock from years prior in another phone call when I worked in palliative care. He was intentional in his advocacy for his patient and thoughtful in way that separated him from most physicians. He had stuck in my head as someone in the medical field doing it differently.

So, years later I took a risk calling him to see if he would accept me as an intern. It was a small risk with a big potential upside.

I ended up interning with him for 8 months. I am so grateful to have found a mentor who has such a warm, direct, and joyful way of cultivating a space to be human, find acceptance and heal. Someone who is doing psychiatry differently and believes, “if psychiatry is practiced right, isn’t all psychiatry integrative psychiatry?”

Through our time together I discovered that he has a wonderful podcast called Back From the Abyss where he explores powerfully moving stories of hope and healing along with explorations of psychopharmacology, psychotherapy and psychedelics. It is worth pausing your read here and checking it out on any podcasting platform.

It was a risk that not only has given me tons of psychiatric pearls, it gave me a life long mentor and friend.

So, next time you’re hesitant about making the phone call. Just do it. Pick up the phone and call because who knows where it will lead you.

What is the most important factor behind the success of your brand/business?

This question is a bit difficult because I am just getting started.

After working for years developing Elephant in the Room, we just launched in June at the National Nurse Practitioner Conference New Orlean.

I also launched my psychiatry practice in June.

I feel that both Elephant In The Room and my practice are and always will be evolving and growing. There will never be a finite point of success. And I love that! I welcome that. That lights me up.

I most definitely would not be where I am without the support of my family, friends, mentors and community. So, I would say that they are behind where I am in business and in life.

How to know whether to keep going or give up?

Giving up has never been an option. I am a very stubborn person. This has been a frustratingly positive characteristic. I find deep reward and exhilaration in pushing through when I want to give up. This doesn’t mean it’s been easy.

I believe strongly in the The Pivot, which is the moment something becomes impossible instead of quitting I restructure, reassess, and regroup. Often this means that the initial vision I’d hoped for is not possible in the way I am doing it and I need to change perspective. However, I don’t consider pivoting, quitting. It’s merely evolving.

There’s two poems that my dad shared with me when I was younger that I hold close to my heart, If by Rudyard Kipling and The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. Both speak of risk and quitting and are worth a Google search and read.

Work/life balance: how has balance changed over time? How do you think about balance?

Work/life balance can be tricky at times. I think as I’ve gotten older I’ve realized how important it is to have balance with these two so I try to prioritize it more. It’s never perfect. I am a believer in the “work hard, play hard” way of living. So, I will have periods of intense work with periods of play. It definitely makes me appreciate the moments of play.

Life balance is so important. I truly believe that figuring out what gives us joy is key to striking a balance. Work also doesn’t have to feel like work, if we find purpose and enjoyment in what we do for work then can’t it be a source of joy?

What makes you happy and why?

Nature makes me happy. Humans are not made for the crowded concrete jungles we live in. There is something magical that happens to my soul when I am in nature. I feel alignment, connected, reflective, curious, creative, peaceful, exhilarated, and joyful all at the same time.

Time with loved ones brings me happiness this includes my wife, my dad and close friends. It feels so good down to the roots of my being to have a long conversation and shared laughter with those I love.

Movement of my body fills me with both release and wild abandon that nothing else can quite do.

And all three of those together at the same time is the trifecta of joy for me!

Why did you pursue an artist or creative career?

All my life I have been creative but never considered myself “a creative.” Not all creatives look like what we traditionally think as creative roles (artists, musicians, etc.) Engineers are creative. Surgeons are creative. Being a parent is creative. Athletes are creative. You get the idea.

So it was empowering one day to change my framework and see myself as a creative.

I believe that creativity is a quality that we posses deep within ourselves. It’s how we see the world and what we bring into this world from nothing. Creativity is not defined by a specific role or how much time we dedicate to the creative process.

I love photography (www.chromaticalchemy.com) and writing. However, these are only two ways I express my creativity. My creativity flows through the way I engage in conversation, the space I cultivate with my patients, ideas or projects I come up with like Elephant in the Room, and many more dynamic expressions of creativity.

If you’re reading this, I encourage you not to let the traditional roles of creativity define or discriminate against your own creative potential. In whatever role you have, find your creative flow and embrace it!

How do you define success?

Success is so subjective. I suppose I never really feel like anything is done because it can always be improved upon. It does feel good to set a goal and accomplish it despite knowing it might be something I will continually improve.

In terms of success in life? I believe strongly that’s it’s intrinsic within our humanity to want to find purpose, love (in ourselves and with others), passion, and community.

My relationship with these is not linear, it is a constant evolution. Love and passion can ebb and flow during a lifetime and it feels meaningful to always hold both with intention. Community shifts constantly but to always be open and explore my connection to others is important to me. As long as I am intentionally moving along life’s journey, I feel this in itself cultivates success.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

A week long trip in Colorado? Honestly, I’d take them straight up to the mountains to my favorite spots. However, I keep those secret. But I will say this, if you come to Colorado head west into the big mountains! Any where really. Just pick a spot.

Along the front range, it’s always fun to go for an early morning run in Garden of the Gods if you’re in Colorado Springs. If you’re in Denver, there are great places to see live music including Red Rocks, The Gothic, The Ogden and The Bluebird.

I always love going to Twist & Shout Music to flip through records and new music and right next door is The Tattered Cover although sadly I think that may be closing soon.

There’s so many new restaurants every day in Denver I can’t keep track but you can’t go wrong. Union Station is fun to check out and has some tasty places for a cocktail.

If you find yourself in Boulder, head to a trail. I won’t say which ones because that’s part of the fun is discovering one. Or rent a bike and head up to Jamestown. Then head over to Frasca for some post-activity nourishment. It never fails.

And if you’re in Fort Collins, go up to Horsetooth Lake or find a good trail run/bike in the foothills. Stroll down Mountain Ave to Little for some tasty food and drinks. Then on to downtown where live music can always be found at Washington’s, The Armory, The Lyric, and The Aggie on pretty much any given day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Big shoutouts to

– my wife Bevin Luna who is a fabulous human being, local musician (hyperlink: www.bevinluna.com), and the greatest adventure of my life.
– my dad Ron Robinson (hyperlink website: www.ronrobinsonlaw.com) who has taught and inspired me that nature is a sanctuary, laughter is medicinal, and to always dream big


– Sara Bates my sweet friend who holds infinite space for dreams, laughter and being human. She also is an incredible acupuncturist in town (hyperlink: www.sarabatesacupuncture.com)
– Jennifer Spencer one of my mentors and dear friend who is the most illuminating creature you’ll ever meet, an exquisite artist in town (hyperlink: www.jenniferspencerart.com), and does wonderful work for the Larimer Small Business Alliance
– Dr. Craig Heacock one of my mentors, colleague and friend who’s approach to psychiatry if full of joy and connection in a way that is needed in psychiatry and he also has an incredible podcast Back From The Abyss (hyperlink: www.craigheacockmd.com)

Website: www.kelleykrobinson.com | www.elephatintheroomgame.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/elephantnthe.room/

Linkedin: www.instagram.com/elephantnthe.room/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/76381462/admin/feed/posts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elephantNthe.room0/

Image Credits
Photo of Illustrated Cards in Elephant Card Deck (the photo with elephant, flamingo, ostrich, chameleon) Illustrations by Pam Kraft. Photo Kelley Robinson Psychiatry and the Hold etc — graphics by me, no need to credit Headshots — credit Bevin Luna Pink Elephant Logo — line drawing Elizabeth Fuller and graphics by me

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.