Hello cozzle,

Why is it that she sees the doctor infrequently?  Does she take her meds every day as prescribed, or only occasionally?  Partial compliance with a medication routine is the culprit in a lot of cases where people still have breakthrough symptoms.  Though, of course, one can take her meds regularly and still have symptoms, so, in that case, she needs to develop coping skills.

You say she is partially functional.  In what ways can she function, and in what ways does she have limitations?  An option would be for her to find housing in a supported residence for people diagnosed with mental illnesses.  Is that not available where she lives?  Could she possibly move to a supported living arrangement in another town?

You also should contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at (800) 950-NAMI (6264) to find the name and phone number of the local affiliate near her, where she can join a support group or you could find out about residences in her area.

You make no mention of whether she has a job or collects a disability check; if she is not employed, a good option would be a day program though you say that there are few mental health resources in her town.  So perhaps the people in her life could create a "telephone tree" whereby someone calls her up on the phone at a certain time every day, just to check in.  Does her town have a Visiting Nurse agency that could send someone to visit her once a week?

The last option I'll suggest is that if she can function well enough, she do some kind of volunteer work which would get her out in weekly contact with other people, like at a library or hospital.

I wish her the best, I truly do.

Regards,

Christina