Much empirical work has shown the personal insight effects of identifying and discussing the memory sources of a dream. The DreamsID project involves discussing the dream so as to explore its relationship to the recent waking life of the dreamer, and then to extend this by giving the dreamer an artwork that captures the dream, and which enables the dreamer to return to the dream, and to consider it again over time, whereas it is more usual for dreams over time to become forgotten. It also socializes the dream, enabling it to be discussed with others.  Julia Lockheart chooses a page or pages from The Interpretation of Dreams on which to capture the dream, having regard to the shapes of the text on the page.  Particular relevant words on the page can then be incorporated into the artwork, often serendipitously. 
Dreams themselves, with their plots, characters, and emotions can simulate a social world that captures the waking world of the dreamer in a metaphorical way. Our aim is to discuss at length the relationship of the dream to the recent emotional waking life of the dreamer, and then to return the dream to the social waking world that led to its creation. Our research, at Swansea  University, University of Wales Trinity St David, and Goldsmiths, aims to investigate whether, in so doing, mutual understanding and empathy increases between the dreamer and the people who hear the dream. We are grateful to the International Association for the Study of Dreams (asdreams.org) whose conferences provide a forum for discussing these ideas.