Introduction Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by cognitive impairment, with a global prevalence of approximately 1% and a generally poor prognosis. Mental rehabilitation aims to improve the symptoms and cognitive impairments of patients with schizophrenia through multidimensional interventions, enhancing their quality of life and social functioning. This study assesses the current global research landscape, highlights key research topics, and explores future directions in the field of schizophrenia and mental rehabilitation. Methods We extracted review articles on schizophrenia and mental rehabilitation from the Web of Science (2004–2023). A bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer 1.6.18.0, Scimago Graphica, and CiteSpace 6.2.R2 to visualize contributions by countries, institutions, journals, authors, citations, and keywords. Results A total of 3692 articles were analyzed. Over 2 decades, publications and citations showed steady growth. The US, the UK, and China ranked the highest in publication output. Core institutions included King’s College London and Harvard University. High‐impact authors were Kim T. Mueser, Davy Vancampfort, and Brendon Stubbs. Psychological Rehabilitation Journal had the highest publication volume, while Schizophrenia Bulletin exhibited the strongest influence. Recent research themes included COVID‐19, ultrahigh‐risk populations, metabolic syndrome, gene expression, physical activity, internalized stigma, mHealth, peer support, and virtual reality. Early intervention (such as ultrahigh‐risk detection) and functional recovery remained central foci. Conclusion The current research hotspots are the management of comorbidities, the application of VR technology, evidence‐based practice in vocational rehabilitation, and interdisciplinary comprehensive intervention. In the future, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation, optimize multidimensional rehabilitation strategies, explore precise treatment pathways (such as Psymatik decision tools), integrate digital technologies (such as mHealth platforms), and promote the clinical translation of VR technology, which is expected to become a cutting‐edge research direction for the adjuvant treatment of schizophrenia.
Ding et al. (Thu,) studied this question.