About Us

---

Vantage Point Center for Psychotherapy is a woman and LGBTQIA owned and operated center.  We are a diverse team of specialists who provide individual therapy, group therapy, family support and psychological assessments/evaluations to clients across California (online) and in the Sacramento region (in-person).

Our therapists have specialized training and certification in a variety of specialty areas. This is what makes our services unique in the Sacramento region. These are some of our specialties or areas of expertise: Anxiety Disorders, Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Trauma, Psychosis, Depression, and relationship issues​. 

Though each of our therapists are unique in  approach, we all believe that connection is an integral part of the healing process. Our approach to therapy at Vantage Point is both holistic and integrative. When we say we are integrative this means that we have specialized training in several treatment modalities (different types of therapies). This enables us to customize our treatment methods to meet the unique needs, presenting issues, and personality of each client. 

Research has found that certain treatments are empirically supported for different disorders, therefore, based on the issue at hand we will integrate the treatment or approach that is most effective. 

Additionally, we acknowledge that a person's life experience, gender, sexual orientation, SES, environment, culture, and family of origin can influence a person's current state and exploring this history can be an important part of the healing process. 

After working in the Sacramento community for several years, we began to notice a scarcity of  specialized treatment for Eating Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Clients could not find therapists who were adequately trained, specialized and/or experienced in treating people suffering from these disorders. 

In fact, research shows that those that struggle with OCD spend an average of seven years in treatment before getting an accurate diagnosis.  Receiving specialized care is especially important  for those with an Eating Disorder due to complex medical, nutritional, and  life-threatening factors . 

Noticing this lack of care in our community, Vantage Point Center for Psychotherapy was born. 

Dr. Katie Polsky and Shelley Tirsbeck, LMFT created Vantage Point in 2012 as a specialized practice and brought on other like-minded therapists from the community who also shared their values and vision.  This grew to include other areas of expertise and therapists who had other passions and areas of focus and specialization. 

Today, we are honored to be able to provide comprehensive, specialized, and integrative treatment to individuals that suffer from Eating Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Psychosis, Trauma, and Anxiety Disorders.  We are also proud to provide LGBTQIA affirmative therapy to our community.

In line with the desire to bring specialized care and education to the community, Dr. Polsky created our doctoral training program which has grown to be incredibly successful and beneficial to our local community. 

Vantage Point is dedicated to teaching, training and mentoring doctoral students and Masters-level interns as they become the next generation of therapists in the Sacramento area and beyond. This program continues to grow and attract doctoral students across the country to be able to train with our experts.     

After working with our wonderful clients for 10 years and training our students, Vantage Point is still going strong, and we continue to work to meet the needs and demands of our ever-changing world and community. 

We also continue to seek opportunities to reflect, grow, and be lifelong learners, in a similar way that we instill in our clients. For example, we are now offering psychological and cognitive (learning disorder) assessments and evaluations to meet the demand in Sacramento.