Asking for an American friend of mine

I have an american friend who's on "Caresource" health insurance (not really sure how that stuff works).

She's suicidal, and doesn't really have the energy or the will to help herself at the moment. Her depression is also worsening her mental health in other areas. With her permission, I'm making this thread, and I'd like some advice.
She's had very bad experiences with psych wards and mental hospitals in her area (Ohio, moved around a lot and been in several hospitals, all bad), and because of this she's unwilling to seek help there.

Her family has financial problems and can probably not afford expensive options.

I'm wondering if any Americans have suggestions here. I remember watching a TV show years ago about mental patients part of this program where they travel to Israel and other places and swim with dolphins as therapy. I brought this up with her and she liked that idea. I don't know what this and similar programs are called, though. Therapy travels? and I don't know how expensive they are.

My friend has a great desire to travel the world, so therapy combined with travel sounds like it would be right up her alley.

If not traveling, then in both mine and her opinion, she needs professional help right now, but not the kind of abusive "help" she has gotten in the past, which didn't actually help her at all, only caused her more pain.
I'm taking all and any suggestions.

Thank you for asking for your friend.

Unfortunately I don't live in America so I wouldn't have advice to give in this area.

But heaps of members are American and I'm pretty sure that they would be able to come forward and offer suggestions.

Hope this all turns out smoothly.

The CareSource website and your account of your friend's circumstances suggest that she might be on Ohio Medicaid, funded by the state of Ohio and the federal government and managed by the state, a 'means-tested' program available to Ohio residents with low incomes. If your friend has been prevented from working by a long-term diagnosed mental illness and has paid into the Social Security system through payroll taxes from prior work, she could qualify for SSDI and federal Medicare insurance, a national health insurance program which might serve her needs better than CareSource.

It's unlikely that her family, CareSource or Medicare will be able to send her to Israel to swim with dolphins, so I'd be careful in setting expectations.

I'd have her call an Ohio crisis hotline: County Hotlines

and see what suggestions they might have for her. It seems odd she'd be perfectly happy to travel but "doesn't really have the energy or the will to help herself at the moment"? Doing all the chores necessary to travel are a lot of work. If I were her I'd get Ohio travel publications: http://consumer.discoverohio.com/vis...materials.aspx and put together a bit of local travel therapy for myself, things I might enjoy and that might help me get a different perspective on my life, etc.?