Yimin Guan, Yaqing Wang, Dongmei Zhuang, Wenzhuo Wei, Lijun Ma, He Du, Chuan Fan, Xiaoming Li
{"title":"The top 100 cited papers on mental health and virtual reality: a bibliometric analysis.","authors":"Yimin Guan, Yaqing Wang, Dongmei Zhuang, Wenzhuo Wei, Lijun Ma, He Du, Chuan Fan, Xiaoming Li","doi":"10.1080/13548506.2025.2460336","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Virtual reality technology has been widely applied in the field of mental health research. However, to date, no study has employed bibliometric methods to systematically analyze the application of virtual reality in mental health. By searching the Web of Science Core Collection, we have summarized the top 100 cited papers in this field and conducted the first bibliometric study on mental health and virtual reality using CiteSpace. The results indicate that this area has received considerable attention. The United States stands out as the most influential country. The University of London and Emory University are the leading contributing institutions. Rothbaum BO is the most productive author, and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking, is the journal with the most publications in this area. The primary focus of research in this domain is on virtual reality therapy for mental disorders, especially virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. These findings may help researchers understand the current state and future trends in the field of mental health and virtual reality.</p>","PeriodicalId":54535,"journal":{"name":"Psychology Health & Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-17"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology Health & Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2025.2460336","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Virtual reality technology has been widely applied in the field of mental health research. However, to date, no study has employed bibliometric methods to systematically analyze the application of virtual reality in mental health. By searching the Web of Science Core Collection, we have summarized the top 100 cited papers in this field and conducted the first bibliometric study on mental health and virtual reality using CiteSpace. The results indicate that this area has received considerable attention. The United States stands out as the most influential country. The University of London and Emory University are the leading contributing institutions. Rothbaum BO is the most productive author, and Cyberpsychology, Behavior, And Social Networking, is the journal with the most publications in this area. The primary focus of research in this domain is on virtual reality therapy for mental disorders, especially virtual reality exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. These findings may help researchers understand the current state and future trends in the field of mental health and virtual reality.
期刊介绍:
Psychology, Health & Medicine is a multidisciplinary journal highlighting human factors in health. The journal provides a peer reviewed forum to report on issues of psychology and health in practice. This key publication reaches an international audience, highlighting the variation and similarities within different settings and exploring multiple health and illness issues from theoretical, practical and management perspectives. It provides a critical forum to examine the wide range of applied health and illness issues and how they incorporate psychological knowledge, understanding, theory and intervention. The journal reflects the growing recognition of psychosocial issues as they affect health planning, medical care, disease reaction, intervention, quality of life, adjustment adaptation and management.
For many years theoretical research was very distant from applied understanding. The emerging movement in health psychology, changes in medical care provision and training, and consumer awareness of health issues all contribute to a growing need for applied research. This journal focuses on practical applications of theory, research and experience and provides a bridge between academic knowledge, illness experience, wellbeing and health care practice.