Hugs to you, Stephanie, for being such a caring friend.
I think these two points are right-on:
He might be more likely to go to a MD - that would be a start and wouldn't have the same stigma that a "shrink" does.
You could talk to him about his problems might be some physical.
and
... the girls he mentions ~ and must realise that they cannot always be on hand, and are not trained in therapy, etc,
It sounds like he is looking for someone to "save" him, but he really needs to work on resources within himself...
