Structured, clinician-led therapy for kids, teens, and young adults — available via telehealth from wherever you are in Nevada County, California. No commute to Sacramento. No waiting list at an understaffed agency. A therapist who actually lives in this community.
Nevada County, California is a beautiful place to live — and a genuinely difficult place to find a therapist who has an opening, takes your insurance, and specializes in what your child actually needs. Families in Grass Valley and Penn Valley often face long drives to Sacramento or Roseville, months-long waits at county agencies, and providers who aren't trained in the expressive and game-based approaches that work best for hard-to-engage kids.
Online play therapy changes that equation. Sessions happen on a device your child already has, from your home, without the commute — and without sacrificing the quality of care.
Growing Home Counseling offers telehealth to every corner of Nevada County — and to clients in Auburn, Truckee, and anywhere else in California. Medi-Cal (including Partnership Health Plan and Anthem) is accepted, so cost doesn't have to be the reason a family doesn't get support.
Play therapy is one of the most well-established approaches in child and adolescent mental health — it's been practiced for close to a century. The core insight is simple: children and teens often can't access or articulate what's happening for them through words alone. Play, creativity, and structured activity open a different door.
At Growing Home Counseling, play therapy is delivered through a game-based modality using Minecraft Education Edition as the therapeutic medium — a structured clinical approach with peer-reviewed research support, adapted specifically for telehealth. The therapist (Andrew Walker, APCC) is present and actively guiding every session.
Play therapy has nearly 100 years of clinical history behind it. This approach modernizes the medium while keeping the clinical foundation intact.
Every session is clinician-led. There is no unsupervised time. The therapist is in the session from start to finish, tracking and guiding with clinical intention.
The format works equally well online as in person — often better, for clients who are more comfortable at home than in an office setting.
Peer-reviewed research shows this approach dramatically outperforms traditional formats for youth engagement — particularly for neurodivergent clients and pre-adolescent boys.
Building, exploring, avatar expression, conversation — clients communicate through whichever channel feels most accessible, reducing the pressure of pure talk therapy.
The platform (Minecraft Education Edition) is designed for institutional settings. Each client has a private world accessible only during scheduled sessions.
No diagnosis required. This approach works especially well for clients who haven't connected with traditional talk therapy — but it isn't limited to them.
In-person sessions are available in Nevada City. Telehealth reaches every community listed below — and anywhere else in California.
Office location: 194 Gold Flat Road, Nevada City, CA 95959. Serving the historic downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.
Nevada County's largest city. Many families in Grass Valley access therapy online rather than driving to Sacramento or Roseville.
Western Nevada County, near Lake Wildwood. Online therapy is often the most practical option for Penn Valley families.
The San Juan Ridge area, including Washington and Rough and Ready. Telehealth removes the distance barrier entirely.
Placer County, at the base of the foothills. Online therapy available to Auburn and the surrounding Foothill communities.
High Sierra Nevada County. Mental health access is especially limited at altitude — telehealth closes that gap year-round.
Not listed? If you're in California, telehealth is available. Reach out to check availability →
Growing Home Counseling accepts Partnership Health Plan of California and Anthem Medi-Cal, both of which serve Nevada County residents. Eligible clients are likely to pay nothing out of pocket. The private pay rate is $170/session, and a sliding scale is available.
Partnership Health Plan (PHC) is the managed Medi-Cal plan for Nevada County. If you have Medi-Cal and you see "Partnership" on your insurance card, you likely have PHC. Call (530) 264-0080 to verify your specific coverage before scheduling.
Andrew Walker, APCC is a Nevada City-based therapist with a specialty in game-based and expressive arts approaches for kids, teens, and young adults. He trained at Saybrook University, practices under the supervision of Daniela Di Piero, LMFT #88547, and works with clients across Nevada County and throughout California via telehealth.