Technology and psychotherapeutic interventions: Bibliometric analysis of the past four decades

Rapid growth of the integration of technology and psychotherapeutic interventions has been noted, but no clear quantification of this growth has been done. This bibliometric analysis seeks to quantify the growth, trends, and applications of technology in psychotherapeutic interventions over the last 40 years. Searches were conducted in the Web of Science (WOS) database for all existing technology-psychotherapy-related publications from 1981 to October 2020. Search terms were refined using a systematic screening strategy, based upon Cochrane protocol, generating 52 technology terms. Analyses across 40 years and by decade from 1981 to 2020 were conducted. A total of 13,934 peer-reviewed articles were identified. Yearly publication rate has increased from one in 1981 to 1902 by October 2020. The growth rate of publications across decades consistently tripled in size (762.50% from the 1980s to 1990s, 539.71% from the 1990s to 2000s, and 337.24% from the 2000s to 2010s). The author, country, journal, and institution with the most publications were Andersson, G., USA, Journal of Medical Internet Research, and Karolinska Institute, respectively. The most frequent technology search term across all four decades was “internet*.” The trends in percentages of peer-reviewed publications within each decade showed: 1) a declining trend for the term “computer,” 2) an upward trend for the combined terms, “internet,” “online,” and “web,” 3) and a steady but smaller proportion of publications for other terms (“cell phone,” “phone/telephone,” “technology,” “video,” “virtual reality or VR,” “apps,” “digital,” “machine learning,” “electronic,” “robo,” and “telehealth”). The rapid growth and trends identified in technology and psychotherapy publications can inform related policies addressing the role of technology in mental health. Moreover, pattern analyses may provide direction for a standard nomenclature to address terminology usage inconsistencies across the field. •This study quantifies growth of technology use in psychotherapeutic interventions.•Publications on psychotherapy and technology tripled in size across each decade.•Publications utilizing the terms “internet/web/online” are continually growing.•The use of the term “computer” is decreasing.•Other technologies appear at lower frequencies but remain relatively stable.