A Systematic Bibliometric Analysis of Virtual Reality Research in Mental Health: Trends, Hotspots, and Future Directions. (Preprint)

BACKGROUND With the increasing maturity of the technology and the gradual reduction of costs, virtual reality is playing an increasingly important role in clinical therapy. OBJECTIVE This study aims to analyze the current status and developmental trends of virtual reality (VR) research in mental health. METHODS We analyzed 1,116 publications spanning from 1994 to 2022, sourced from the Web of Science. Our analysis included visualization of authorship, institutional affiliations, countries, cited literature, and key terms. RESULTS Harvard Medical School emerged as the leading institution in terms of publication volume in this field. Giuseppe Riva was identified as the most prolific author in VR mental health research. The American Journal of Psychiatry was distinguished by its high centrality and impact factor (IF = 17.7, 2022). Recent trends, indicated by emerging keywords and citation bursts, point to growing research interests in areas such as geriatric mental health, environmental influences, and pain management. The predominant research hotspots over the past two decades have been schizophrenia, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with emerging frontiers in the study of environmental factors and pain. CONCLUSIONS This study systematically outlines the evolution, current landscape, and potential future directions of VR research in mental health, offering valuable insights for researchers in the field.