Bruce Feltrup-Exum

Bruce Feltrup-Exum has spent more than two decades helping children, adolescents and adults understand themselves through careful assessment and caring counseling. He is experienced in diagnosing autism and ADHD at every age and in sorting out the conditions that often travel with them. What stays constant is his curiosity about people and his belief that a good evaluation should leave someone with more understanding, more options and a clearer next step.

A path through many kinds of work

Before he settled into psychology and ministry, Bruce worked in a remarkable range of jobs. He has built cabinetry as a craftsman, hung drywall, worked airport ramp service, practiced nursing, sold pharmaceuticals and worked as a microbiologist, among other roles. He has never been someone who learns one thing and stops.

That varied working life is part of why he meets people so comfortably. He understands shift work, physical labor, sales floors, clinical settings and the practical realities that shape a family’s life. He is as comfortable talking with a parent in a school meeting as he is reviewing a complex psych/neuropsych profile.

Ministry, grief and hospice

Bruce is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He studied at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, where he trained under scholars whose writing and teaching are known nationally and internationally. His ministry and his therapy work are not separate for him: both are about sitting with people in hard seasons and helping them find a way forward.

He has provided bereavement care in hospice and elder-care communities, including Jewish homes. He is at home across faith traditions and is careful to honor each person’s beliefs. When a client asks, he is glad to bring faith and spirituality into the conversation; he never imposes it.

Assessment and the whole person

Bruce’s post-graduate specialization centers on autism and ADHD assessments and appraisals. He has never stopped taking courses, reading research or learning a new assessment tool. His particular interest is in neurological and neuropsych conditions, and in how a clear evaluation can connect a person to the right care.

That care may involve school supports, psychiatry, neurology, endocrinology, oncology or another specialty. Bruce works closely with the professionals around a client so the findings are useful beyond the report. He enjoys working with all ages, from young children through adults, and takes real satisfaction in watching people understand themselves better and get the support they need.

Much of his week is spent writing integrated test reports, evaluating new and emerging assessment strategies, and keeping up with research in the field. He is deliberate about explaining results in plain language, because a report is only useful if the person and family can use it.

Teaching, research and legal work

Bruce has taught at Texas Wesleyan University and has been invited to present on psych and neuropsych assessments and appraisals, autism, ADHD and related topics. He has also worked alongside research programs focused on PTSD and head injury.

He works closely with area attorneys on civil, criminal and family-law matters that require psych and neuropsych assessments, appraisals or expert review. That work draws on the same care he brings to a clinical evaluation: a clear question, a careful method and an explanation that holds up.

Outside the office

When he is not writing reports or with clients, Bruce is usually in his workshop. He builds furniture and makes art, and the same patience and attention to detail that shape his assessments show up in the things he makes by hand.