Abstract

This paper seeks to report the results of an investigation that approached the emotional sphere from an experiential point of view, embodied in a reflective logbook. To this end, we start from the conception that the occurrence of an emotion can occurs by emergency or by concurrence. The objective established for this study has been to characterize the emotions of social work students in their professional practice, delving into what shapes them through their formative experience. The methodological approach is qualitative, and the methods used correspond to microanalysis based on the 100 student reflection logs analyzed. The study was carried out with fourth-and fifth-year social work students from two universities, one state and the other private, in the central-south zone of Chile. Among the findings, the presence of emergency emotions such as fear, nervousness, anxiety, prejudice and insecurity provoked by the situations generated by the interaction with parents and guardians of students in the school system stands out. Emotions such as joy and happiness are also recognized after interaction with families. These results reveal that the student body is still unaware of how emotions are integrated in the educational environment and even more so in professional practices, a context that could be understood as a vital space in which the integrity of the student and the people is necessary for deep learning. In this sense, the results show the importance of continuing to contribute to the knowledge of emotions in the processes of professional practice in social work and how they are fundamental in professional practice. © 2025, Ludomedia EN. All rights reserved.