Mapping Fifty Years of Music Therapy Research: Trends, Themes, and Future Pathways through a Comprehensive Bibliometric Lens

Abstract

This study presents a longitudinal bibliometric analysis of music therapy research spanning 1970 to 2025, utilizing Web of Science data to systematically map publication growth, citation dynamics, thematic evolution, and global collaboration patterns. The analysis, based on 4,454 peer-reviewed English articles, reveals an exponential expansion in research output from under 50 publications per year in the early decades to over 400 by 2023, with a contemporaneous decline in recent years likely due to database artefacts. Employing advanced science-mapping tools, the study identifies central clinical engines, anxiety, depression, pain, cancer, dementia, stroke, and child and adolescent mental health, alongside niche and emerging areas like preterm infant care, autism, and technology-mediated interventions (telehealth, virtual reality). A concentrated authorship and institutional landscape, dominated by Western, Anglophone countries, highlights persistent geographic inequities. Thematic mapping demonstrates a shift from foundational clinical research to diversified, interdisciplinary, and technology-driven domains, with telehealth and digital innovation accelerated post-COVID-19. The findings underscore the need for expanded global participation, rigorous evaluation of emerging interventions, and strategic investment to redress disparities, and they frame actionable implications for researchers, clinicians, and policymakers invested in a robust and inclusive music therapy future.

Keywords: Music Therapy, Bibliometric Analysis, Thematic Evolution, Telehealth, Global Collaboration