Biography | Rick Sautter, MSW, LCSW

My first career was 24 years of active duty in the U.S. Navy following graduation from the Naval Academy, mostly as a helicopter pilot.  I spent a combat tour of duty in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam in a squadron supporting riverine forces and special operations.  My final tour of duty in the Navy was executive officer (deputy director) of the Navy Alcohol Rehabilitation Center in San Diego, a residential facility treating alcoholism, drug addiction, and compulsive overeating (now called binge eating disorder).

I earned my Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Southern California (USC). Prior to attending USC, I led a company bringing biofeedback and neurofeedback into addiction treatment.

My concentration in the MSW program was mental health, and USC is the only social work program with a sub-concentration in Military Social Work and Veterans Affairs.  My original purpose in earning my MSW and subsequently being licensed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) was to work with Veterans who experienced combat-related trauma and military sexual trauma and to bring the most current scientifically based treatment methods to those populations.

 I had the opportunity to work with combat Veterans of conflicts from WWII through the present day dealing with PTSD and military sexual abuse at the Eureka, CA, Vet Center. In working with Veterans and their partners/spouses, I realized I had a real love of working with couples.  I then began intensive training with Dr. Susan Johnson, furthered by Dr. Scott Wooley, in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFCT).  Dr. Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight and other books, approaches couple work by helping each individual hear not just the words of their partner but, more importantly, the emotions that may be unexpressed.  

Since graduation, I have obtained training with Dr. Janina Fisher in sensorimotor psychotherapy, which works with cognitive, emotional, and, in the body, feelings, sensations, and movement to help heal from trauma and other forms of distress. In addition, I trained with Dr. Gerald Puk in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), also to heal from trauma and other forms of distress.

I moved to Beale Air force Base, where I was a mental health clinician embedded in an active duty maintenance squadron, working with Airmen proactively to address issues before they fester and cause lifetimes of issues for Veterans and families.

I am now in private practice in Roseville, CA, where I am using all the tools and experience I have acquired to help people with a wide range of mental health, trauma, and relationship issues. Most recently, I have been trained in Brainspotting, a powerful therapeutic way to work with memories and emotions stored deep within the brain, some of which have been impacting us for most of our lives without our even realizing it.

I believe in a partnership relationship with my clients.  I believe in my clients’ ability to lead us into areas where they are seeking help.  What I bring to the relationship is traditional talk therapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Emotionally Based Couple Therapy in any or all combinations.