Rome, Sapienza University, May 9–10, 2025
On May 9–10, 2025, an international conference was held at Sapienza University in Rome, dedicated to the contribution of Daniel Stern to the contemporary understanding of intersubjectivity. Over two days, leading specialists from various fields — developmental psychology, neuroscience, and psychotherapy — shared their research, clinical approaches, and theoretical insights that continue and deepen Stern’s work. The conference became a meeting ground for scientific schools, clinical experience, and philosophical reflection on the relational nature of human development.
This review covers all presentations from the first day of the conference, focused on intersubjectivity in the context of early development, embodied interaction, triadic relationships, and clinical applications of Stern’s ideas.
“The Pathways of Intersubjectivity in Childhood” — Massimo Ammaniti, Cristina Trentini
I percorsi dell’intersoggettività nell’infanzia
The presentation by Massimo Ammaniti (Sapienza University of Rome) and Cristina Trentini (Sapienza University of Rome) explored the development of intersubjectivity from the early prenatal period to the first years of a child’s life. The authors traced the philosophical origins of the concepts of empathy and intersubjectivity (Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty), and showed how the interaction between mother and fetus — through heart rhythms, voice, and movement — lays the foundation for emotional and embodied resonance. Neuroscientific studies (fMRI, EEG, mirror neurons) demonstrate that even newborns are capable of primordial imitation, mutual recognition, and the development of primary forms of communication. Over time, these interactions become more complex, giving rise to triadic relationships (mother–father–child), and fostering the capacity for mentalization, joint attention, and awareness of others as subjects with their own intentions. In this way, intersubjectivity appears as a bodily, emotional, and cognitive field formed in deep contact with the other — and one that underlies later social life and relationships.
“Emerging Relationality and Self-Regulation in the Experience of Feeding and in Childhood Eating Disorders” — Loredana Lucarelli, Laura Vismara
Relazionalità emergente e regolazione del Sé nell’esperienza della nutrizione e nei disturbi dell’alimentazione nell’infanzia
The presentation by Loredana Lucarelli (University of Cagliari) and Laura Vismara (University of Cagliari) addressed the early feeding relationship as a foundational relational space. Drawing on Stern’s theory and his notion of intersubjectivity as being-with-another, the authors showed how rhythm, state regulation, and affective attunement emerge in this experience. Clinical examples were presented of feeding disturbances in the context of maternal depression, lack of authenticity in interaction, and imbalance of roles in the dyad and triad (mother–father–infant). This approach combines phenomenology of interaction with empirical findings on attachment disruption, somatization, and eating disorders in infancy and early childhood.
“Motor Organization, Forms of Vitality, and Dyadic Interaction in Emerging Autism” — Filippo Muratori
Organizzazione motoria, forme vitali e interazione diadica nell’autismo emergente
The presentation by Filippo Muratori (IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris, Pisa) and his research group focused on identifying early markers of autism in the first year of life. Drawing on Daniel Stern’s concept of forms of vitality, the author explored how disruptions in motor behavior, affect regulation, and sensorimotor coordination impact the infant’s ability for social resonance, imitation, and gestural communication. Through microanalysis of parent-infant interactions captured on video and the use of tools such as the Infant Behavioral Scale, his team demonstrated that atypical motor experience in infancy is not only a neurobiological sign but also a relational signal.
“Tributes in Memory of Stern” — Élisabeth Fivaz-Depeursinge, Silvia Mazzoni
Testimonianze in ricordo di Stern
Élisabeth Fivaz-Depeursinge (Lausanne University Hospital) could not participate and Silvia Mazzoni (Sapienza University of Rome) represented both Elisabeth’s and her own work. Their presentation was dedicated to Daniel Stern — as a thinker, a colleague, and an inspirational force behind the triadic approach to early interaction. The speaker shared the story of the book The Primary Triangle, Stern’s support for their research, and how his perspectives on mutuality and vitality forms made possible a new vision of the family system — not as a simple sum of dyads, but as a living triangular structure. At the heart of this talk was the concept of collective intersubjectivity, in which the infant’s experience is shaped in simultaneous interaction with both parents, within a shared field of presence, rhythm, and resonance.
“From Implicit Relational Knowing to Aesthetic Relational Knowing: Stern’s import to Gestalt Therapy” — Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb
Dalla conoscenza relazionale implicita alla conoscenza relazionale estetica: il contributo di Stern alla psicoterapia della Gestalt
The presentation by Margherita Spagnolo Lobb (Gestalt Therapy Institute HCC Italy) illustrated the evolution of the understanding of intersubjectivity within the Gestalt approach. Special attention was given to the concept of aesthetic relational knowledge — the therapist’s capacity to remain present in the relational field with sensitivity to the vitality and responsive qualities of the interaction. She also presented the model of “dance steps” — a dynamic, embodied, affective movement-in-two that allows the therapist to track and support the unfolding of their contact in the here and now of the session.
Her talk offered a distinctive clinical perspective within the scientific and interdisciplinary context of the conference. It demonstrated how concepts developed by Stern — such as rhythm, attunement, and vitality — can find direct application in therapeutic work. Through the lens of Gestalt therapy, these ideas were presented not only as theoretical insights but as tools for clinical observation and intervention, with an emphasis on spontaneity, reciprocity, and aesthetic presence in the therapeutic relationship.
All presentations contributed to making Stern’s legacy both alive and contemporary by offering concrete tools for the practical implementation of his ideas in therapy.
Review by Tetiana Savytska