The historical and contemporary aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in recent 30 years: a bibliometric study.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) has become the leading intervention for insomnia over the past two decades, with well-established efficacy. Yet, no systematic approach exists to rapidly capture its intellectual foundations, research frontiers and research hotspots. This study addresses this gap through bibliometric analysis. METHOD: Using a comprehensive set of synonyms and related terms for CBT-I as search keywords, a methodical literature search was carried out. The search was restricted to review papers and articles published in peer-reviewed journals between the years 1996 and 2025. This resulted in 6996 records from Scopus and 4595 records from the Web of Science(WoS) Core Collection. CiteSpace was applied to analyze cited references and terms. VOSviewer was applied to analyze the co-authorship in authors, organizations and countries/regions. RESULTS: (a)Eight primary knowledge bases were identified, encompassing management guidelines and reference books on insomnia; face-to-face CBT-I interventions for individuals with insomnia; self-help or digital CBT-I interventions for insomnia; CBT-I applications in mental disorders comorbid insomnia; CBT-I interventions for insomnia comorbid with medical conditions; the overview of information about insomnia; sleep assessment tools; and other related topics. (b)Three emerging research frontiers in the CBT-I domain over the past 5 years include: digital delivery of CBT-I interventions, the practice of CBT-I in sleep apnea, and CBT-I among cancer populations. (c)Morin CM is the leading researcher in the field; University of California has emerged as the leading institution in CBT-I research; the United States collectively produces the highest volume of CBT-I related research globally. (d)Current research hotspots in CBT-I include: adding CBT-I applications to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the practice of CBT-I during the COVID-19 epidemic, population-specific modifications of CBT-I for at-risk teenagers, new studies on CBT-I's digital delivery methods, assessing CBT-I's effectiveness and adaptation in comorbid psychiatric diseases (especially anxiety-related conditions). CONCLUSION: This study delineates the intellectual base and evolving trends of CBTI research. The results help beginners quickly grasp the field's development, improve practice accuracy and consistency, and provide researchers with a comprehensive overview to inform future innovations.