I agree with astralsuzy and more - going to a hypnotist to "recover memories" is a TERRIBLE idea! It is all suggestion - even accidentally - that will do nothing but put memories in there that don't belong. If you're going to find memories, past lives or whatever else, do it on your own. Never, ever ask a hypnotist to do it for you. You don't need to be traumatized by events that never happened AND fork over money for it.

I have seen a hypnotherapist make a woman forget the number 5 before. When he corrected it with a second hypnosis, she said afterward that after that first one it was like she knew somewhere in her mind she must have been counting wrong (when he asked her to count his fingers, holding up both hands, and she skipped right over 5) but couldn't figure out what was wrong and was effectively 'blocked' from using that number. Just one small example of how powerful hypnosis is.

Hypnosis is a fringe therapy at best, and when you are in such a suggestible state of mind, it is so terribly easy to steer you! The hypnotist should never ever suggest anything to you such as "Did the man look like this?" or, "where was he standing?" - in a hypnotized state you are all too willing and eager to follow their lead, and it becomes a permanent part of your subconscious. People have found themselves taking anxiety pills and going through therapy for what was implanted during hypnosis.

This "past life regression" hypnosis stuff (as well as things like "alien abduction" memory recovery and others) is a quack hoax. These hypnotherapists are making money by literally implanting memories into you of so-called past lives. Find your own memories of past lives, I guarantee they are far more legitimate. And if you can't find them, just trust that either you weren't ready for them, or who knows, you may just be a new soul! It's okay not to have past lives - we have new souls coming into being all the time. Not everyone is thousands of years old you know, and that's okay!

As for your friend, I am so sorry to hear that - he is one of many many many people who have been hurt by this profession! I honestly would suggest an understanding therapist for him (one that won't judge his beliefs in any way for example or that he feels safe discussing it with), because the trauma is very real, even if the memory is not. He may need help working through it.