Mental Health Research: A Two-Decade Bibliometric Mini-Review (2000–2024)

Abstract

This mini review summarizes key findings from a bibliometric study covering mental health research from 2000 to 2024, comprising 483 publications from 279 sources. The original study examined publication growth, influential journals, prolific authors and institutions, global collaboration patterns, thematic evolutions, and trending topics. Notably, research output surged after 2018, with Psychiatric Services, BMC Psychiatry, and The Lancet as leading journals. Prominent contributors included Alonso J and Haro J, while the University of Toronto and Harvard University emerged as key institutional hubs. Co-occurrence and thematic mapping revealed four dominant themes mental health services, depression, public health policy, and socioeconomic determinants alongside emergent focus areas such as COVID-19’s mental health impact and cognitive behavioural therapy. This review highlights the progression from policy and system-level studies to more intervention-oriented, global, and socially contextualized research, while highlighting the need for greater cross-national collaboration and inclusion of low and middle-income countries.