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The following is a summary of “Unleashing the potential of chatbots in mental health: bibliometric analysis,” published in the February 2025 issue of Frontiers in Psychiatry by Han and Zhao.
Chatbots are emerging as a key solution to the mental health professional shortage, offering accessible and convenient support. They bridge the gap between mental health needs and available resources.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study using bibliometric analysis to explore global chatbot applications in mental health, revealing key scientific patterns in this field.
They used Biblioshiny and VOSviewer to analyze 261 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection (2015–2024). They examined publication distribution by country, institution, and source, mapped collaboration networks, and identified research trends using keyword co-occurrence analysis.
The results showed that chatbot research in mental health grew at an annual rate of 46.19% over the last decade. The U.S. led with 27.97% of publications and 2,452 citations, followed by England, Australia, China, and France. The National Center for Scientific Research in France ranked first among institutions, existed among universities in the USA, followed by Imperial College London and the University of Zurich. The Journal of Medical Internet Research had the highest publications (12.26%), while JMIR Mental Health had the highest average citations per article. Strong collaboration, Switzerland, and Singapore. The keyword co-occurrence network identified 5 research topics, with high-frequency terms like “ChatGPT,” “machine learning,” and “large language models” reflecting advancements in the field.
Investigators analyzed key countries, institutions, publications, collaborations, and research topics in chatbot applications for mental health. The findings suggested that chatbots played a significant role in mental well-being and showed potential for empathy, curiosity, understanding, and collaboration.
Source: frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1494355/full
