Sarah Oettinger, LCSW, CCTP-II

Sarah Oettinger is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is a Certified Complex Trauma Professional Level 2 (CCTP-II). She is the founder of Desert Bloom Counseling. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice before earning her master's degree in social work. In her master's program, Sarah was selected to be part of the UNLV School of Social Work Behavioral Health Training Project, where she received specialized trauma-informed training to work with children, adolescents, and transitional-age youth who are at risk or have developed behavioral health disorders.

Sarah has extensive experience addressing various mental health issues, such as anxiety disorders, depression, trauma-related disorders, and mood disorders. Her therapeutic style is rooted in mindfulness and integrates trauma-informed practices into her sessions, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for her clients. Furthermore, Sarah's area of specialization is in treating trauma and trauma-related disorders, including trauma related to sexual violence. She utilizes Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and adapting treatment modalities to meet each client's current needs. Although Sarah sees clients with various issues, she focuses on counseling survivors of sexual abuse/assault.

While Sarah provides treatment for clients of all ages, her primary focus has been providing support for preschool-aged and early school-age children who experience sexual trauma, recognizing the critical importance of early intervention and healing during these formative years. In addition, Sarah also provides therapeutic services with Signs of HOPE (formally known as the Rape Crisis Center). She is an Instructor with the UNLV School of Social Work, where she provides classroom-based education for social work students and is an Agency Field Instructor, where she helps integrate the coursework in the field.