Wow, great forum here! I think I posted this in the right place, but if a mod feels it would be better suited somewhere else, please move it.

I'm trying to get help for a good friend (yes, its really for a friend) who is having a very difficult time in her already difficult life. We are running into difficulty finding her a hospital/program that will take her because the only insurance she has is California state's Medi-Cal.

Shes been diagnosed with PTSD, conversion disorder, depression, anxiety. Also possibly opiate addiction to prescription drugs to treat diagnosed medical conditions. The addiction is questionable, she does and always has had a high tolerance to prescription pain meds. Even from the first time she took them as a child, it took many more and higher doses than it does for most people. As she has gotten older and her medical problems and need for pain meds has increased, so has her tolerance. She was addicted to pain meds a couple of years ago and did go through medical detox using Subutex. She doesn't currently have the withdrawal symptoms she had in the past if she doesn't take meds. But with all the pain she is in, she does take a lot of meds.

Where she is now - She has medical conditions that cause her a lot of pain and frequent trips to the ED for pain meds and pain control. She is on a waiting list for a primary care physician, but isn't able to get one right away because not many doctors want to take Medi-cal. Because she is in-and-out of ED so much, usually sees different doctors, gets different prescriptions, it is becoming more difficult for her to get help because the doctors want to jump to the conclusion that she is just a drug seeker. Because of the medical conditions, she is unable to hold down a job, so she has no income. This has forced her to move back in with her mentally and on a couple of occasions, physically abusive mother. Her ex-husband/baby's father and his lifestyle and the way he raises their daughter (they have joint custody) is a big source of stress for her. He is also mentally and verbally abusive and was physically abusive when they were together. She does have a psychiatrist and therapist she is working with.

Because of everything going on and some things that were said about how the child is being treated while with the father, yesterday her therapist decided to open up a case with child protective services and have both parents investigated. My friend sees this as trying to have her child taken away from her (realistically her child is one of her few reasons for wanting to live and is possibly the reason she is still alive). This, combined with a major fight with her mom for the past several days, her mom threatening to kick her out of the house, and everything else going on in her life blew things up majorly yesterday and I had to go and get her. We had a long talk, lots of tears and hugs, and has accepted that she needs help and wants to be hospitalized and have her psych meds adjusted...that is where we are stuck.

She says she has thoughts about wishing she wasn't alive, but has no plans at this time to attempt suicide (she has in the past) or hurt anyone else, so she isn't an immediate danger and can't be forced to get help. She doesn't think she needs to detox, but is willing to go as part of an overall psychiactric program, but the only one we're able to find with her insurance only does it cold turkey and she isn't willing to do that. Her psychiatrist and therapist are also trying to find her a hospital that will take her, but even with a referral from them, they can't find anything in the area because (1) she is not an immediate risk and (2) she has Medi-Cal insurance and no money and can't afford to pay for anything out-of-pocket.

We are kind of limited to what is available in her county because she is on state insurance and it is administered by the county. The county she is in kind of lacks on availability of services for people in her situation. Its been difficult getting her to admit she needs and wants help to try and get her life under control. Now that she has, it is very frustrating to not be able to find her help.

Anyone know of any resources to try and get her help? She is in Santa Clara County, but realistically we'll consider anywhere in the Bay Area and possibly the state if it is able to help her. Any other advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!!!