Past life regression

Past life therapy
Past Life Therapy (PLT) utilizing clinical hypnotherapy/ de-hypnosis claims to allow unconscious experiences from past life traumas or emotionally charged events to become fully conscious. Past Life Therapy aims to resolve any unconscious, survival-based scripts that could be negatively affecting one’s present health, behaviors, or quality of life. Supporters of PLT claim that it can allow for a more thorough resolution since it gives the mind permission to locate past life sources affecting present day challenges or obstacles. Further claims are that PLT can uncover patterns and unconscious dialogue from many lifetimes of trauma or confusion associated with an event and that individuals often re-create similar experiences unconsciously as an attempt to complete or heal an unresolved past life experience.

New Age
It is suggested by New Age therapists for personal growth and healing of people with psychological or physical problems. Among the popular new age figures who teach and use past life regression techniques are Barbara Brennan and Ken Page from the United States, and Dr. John Plowman from the United Kingdom.

Criticism
Skeptics say that memories of past lives can be explained as the result of imagination, confabulations or induced false memories.

Professor Ian Stevenson, a past life researcher, has concerns about hypnotic regression to previous lives.

Dr. Jim Tucker, child psychologist, also has reservations, and says: "Even if people could gain from exploring "past lives", little evidence exists to support using hypnotic regression to do so. Many hypnotists can place subjects under hypnosis and get them to recall apparent memories from the past, often with great detail and emotion. The hard part comes in trying to verify that these 'memories' are events that actually happened.  In many cases the subject has appeared to remember a life from ancient times, so determining whether it actually occurred is impossible." (Tucker, 2005, p.225)