Hello,
I am not sure where I stand on dreams, myself. Probably a bit of defragmenting and meaningful wrapped up in one package.
Anyway, I do believe dreams such as the ones you described to be insightful. To my knowledge, they are anxiety dreams.
Your friend may be feeling anxious in their waking life so much so that it is transferring to their dream life. This anxiety may be caused by fear, helplessness, and the like.
I wish your friend the best of luck! Once the issues in waking life are taken care of, these anxiety dreams should stop.