Dear Michael:

You are welcome. It reads like your friend is desperate, and that desperation blinds your friend, so much so, that your friend repeatedly becomes a victim to sometimes “very skilled, even criminal, persons (who) make themselves out to be the end all be all“.

Reads like maybe some of these people exploit your friend financially. If this is the case, sit with your friend and (1) list the methods by which those persons exploited your friend in the past, (2) look to see if your friend’s current romantic interest has been laying the ground to do the same, and (3) find ways to protect your friend from future financial exploitations.

Psychotherapy for the purpose of gaining insight into your friend’s desperation and learning to manage it so to not be exploited in any way, sounds like a good idea to me!

anita