Southeast Asia-linked mental health research across higher education-associated populations and university-affiliated support services: a bibliometric mapping (2001–2025)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to map the intellectual and thematic landscape of Southeast Asia (SEA)-linked mental health research intersecting higher education contexts and university-affiliated support/service terminology (2001–2025) and to identify priorities for service and policy evaluation. SEA linkage was defined as SEA mention in TITLE–ABS–KEY and/or at least one SEA author affiliation (AFFILCOUNTRY). Design/methodology/approach Scopus records were retrieved using combined higher education, mental health and support/service terms with an SEA filter. The initial export yielded 752 records; after restricting to English-language journal articles and reviews, 646 documents (604 articles; 42 reviews) were analyzed. VOSviewer was used for co-citation and co-word mapping, and thematic evolution was examined in Biblioshiny (bibliometrix) using harmonized author keywords across five time slices. Findings The corpus accrued 9,066 citations (mean 14.03/document) and expanded sharply after 2020, with 68.6% of outputs published in 2020–2025. Co-citation mapping generated five clusters anchored in global student mental health surveillance, emerging adulthood framing and established help-seeking barrier literature. Co-word mapping identified four dominant themes, with COVID-era surveys, symptom burden (depression/anxiety/stress) and help-seeking/stigma shaping the field. Overall, scholarship remains concentrated in distress measurement and cross-sectional prevalence studies, with comparatively limited evaluation of support models and implementation pathways. Research limitations/implications Analyses were limited to Scopus-indexed, English-language records. The SEA definition (mention and/or affiliation) may include work conducted outside SEA, and higher education terms can capture university-affiliated clinical contexts. Practical implications Higher education systems should complement burden estimates with rigorous evaluations of counseling, peer, stepped-care and digital/hybrid supports, alongside implementation research reporting reach, equity, acceptability, fidelity, sustainability and governance safeguards (privacy, safety, escalation/referral). Social implications The findings highlight mental health in higher education as a social and equity issue, not only an individual clinical concern. Persistent clustering around help-seeking barriers and stigma suggests the need for culturally responsive, low-barrier pathways that normalize support-seeking and reduce shame among students and staff in SEA-linked settings. The post-2020 surge in distress research reinforces the importance of strengthening community and peer supports, improving mental health literacy and ensuring accessible counseling and referral systems. Expanding evaluation of digital/hybrid supports can improve reach for underserved groups while safeguarding privacy, safety and appropriate escalation. Originality/value This study provides a focused bibliometric map of SEA-linked mental health research at the intersection of higher education and support/service concepts, highlighting actionable gaps for campus and university-affiliated mental health system evaluation.