Hello TravelingLady!

Yes they say that agoraphobia, or anxiety around getting out of the house can be difficult to treat. Your friend needs to recognise the issue herself.

It looks like, in the first place she has a good friend in you. If you can make an excuse to visit her often and get her talking about her feelings and make an excuse to take her out for a coffee. Your friend will feel she has safety with you and if you manage to get her to come with you, keep the conversation light and make the visits out short but frequent. Eventually you can get her to meet you at a coffee shop.

If you feel you can't do this or she can't, can she get to see her doctor. Medication may be required for the anxiety and the doctor can refer her for more specialized help. In the UK we have mental health services that will come out to the person's home so they can start off therapy at home. I believe there is something similar in the USA.

Would your friend take up on self-help books or would she use the internet at all, there are a lot of resources online, and this could be a good first step to progressing to in- real- life therapy. Here are some links Psych Central: Anxiety and Panic

Hope some of this helps.